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REPORT 


ON    THE 


TREES    AND    SHRUBS 


GROWING  NATURALLY  IN 


THE  FORESTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


PUBLISHED  AGREEABLY  TO  AN  ORDER  OF 
THE     LEGISLATURE, 

BY  THE  COMMISSIONERS  ON  THE  ZOOLOGICAL  AND  BOTANICAL 

SURVEY  OF  THE  STATE. 


23o3tou: 

DUTTON    AND    WENT  WORTH,    STATE    PRINTERS, 

No.  37,  Congress  Street. 

1846. 


To  His  Excellency  Gov.  Briggs  : 
Dear  Sir, — 

The  accompanying  Report  concludes  the  work  of  the  Com- 
missioners on  the  Zoological  and  Botanical  Survey  of  the  State. 
It  has  been  prepared  with  especial  reference  to  the  instructions 
of  Gov.  Everett,  accompanying  his  commission,  and  directing 
the  Commissioners  "to  keep  carefully  in  view  the  economical 
relations  of  every  subject  of  their  inquiry."  I  trust  it  may  do 
something  "to  promote  the  agricultural  benefit  of  the  Common- 
wealth," by  leading  citizens  who  are  land  owners  to  a  consider- 
ation of  the  importance  of  continuing,  improving,  and  enlarging 
the  forests  of  the  State. 

It  is  due  to  the  Legislature,  and  to  yourself,  that  I  should 
make  some  apology  for  the  tardy  appearance  of  my  Report.  It 
is  well  known  to  your  Excellency,  that  ever  since  the  commis- 
sion was  issued,  in  1S37,  I  have  been  occupied,  for  ten  months 
of  every  year,  in  a  pursuit  which  left  me  no  leisure  for  the  Sur- 
vey, and  little  for  reading,  on  subjects  connected  with  it.  I 
have,  therefore,  been  able  to  give  to  it  only  the  summer  vacation, 
and  of  that  a  considerable  portion  has,  every  year,  been  neces- 
sarily taken  up  with  other  things.  Under  these  circumstances, 
it  was  hardly  possible  for  me  to  give  to  the  Survey  the  attention 
it  deserved,  and  let  my  Report  appear  at  an  earlier  period. 

I  am,  respectfully, 

Your  Excellency's  friend  and  servant, 

GEO.  B.  EMERSON. 

September  19,  1846. 


PREFACE 


In  order  that  this  Report  should  answer  the  ends  for  which 
the  Survey  was  ordered,  the  descriptions  of  the  Trees  and 
Shrubs  are  arranged  according  to  the  Natural  System.  This 
has  been  done,  not  from  undervaluing  the  artificial  system  of 
Linnseus,  which  must  still  continue  of  use  in  aiding  to  find  the 
name  of  a  plant  and  its  place  in  the  Natural  System,  but  from  a 
conviction  of  the  incomparably  greater  value  of  the  latter.  The 
artificial  system  is  based  essentially  on  distinctions  drawn  from 
the  stamens  and  pistils  alone.  The  Natural  System,  on  the  con- 
trary, takes  into  consideration  not  one  part  only,  but  every  part 
and  whatever  relates  to  it, — the  seed,  from  the  development  of  its 
embryo  to  its  germination,  the  growth,  formation  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  wood,  bark,  buds  and  leaves,  and  the  flower  and  fruit. 
It  is  found  that  plants  which  resemble  each  other  in  the  external 
forms  of 'their  more  essential  parts,  have  a  similar  resemblance 
in  properties  and  uses,  and  require  similar  modes  of  manage- 
ment and  culture.  The  adoption  of  the  Natural  System  is,  there- 
fore, particularly  important  in  a  comparatively  new  country  like 
ours.  Upon  the  culture,  properties  and  uses  of  many  of  our 
trees  and  shrubs,  few  or  no  experiments  have  been  made.  We 
must  learn  what  modes  of  culture  are  likely  to  answer  best  with 
them,  by  observing  what  modes  have  been  successful  with  well- 
known  plants  of  the  same  families  and  affinities,  in  the  old 
countries.  Of  many  of  them,  the  value  in  building,  and  the 
various  mechanic  arts,  in  dyeing  and  tanning,  and  as  furnishing 
articles  of  food,  or  materials  for  medicine,  are  not  yet  known. 
We  shall  be  likely  to  find  them  most  readily  by  looking  for  uses 
similar  to  what  are  known  to  belong  to  plants  most  analogous  to 
them.  "  If  there  is,"  says  De  Candolle,  "  a  country  where  the 
theory  of  analogy  between  forms  and  properties  may  become 
eminently  useful,  it  is  North  America,  which,  situated  in  the 
same  latitude  as  Europe,  is  occupied  bv  analogous  vegetation  " 


\- 1  PREFACE. 

The  uses  of  the  natural  arrangement  in  abridging  the  labor  of 
acquisition  and  aiding  the  memory  of  the  learner  are  most  im- 
portant, and  its  advantages  to  cultivators,  to  physicians, — to 
all  who  are  seeking  to  enlarge  their  knowledge  of  the  useful 
or  dangerous  properties  of  plants,  that  they  may  be  able  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  one,  or  counteract  the  other,  to  gain  ma- 
terials for  the  arts,  or  remedies  or  antidotes  in  medicine,  are  too 
many  to  enumerate  and  too  obvious  to  be  further  insisted  upon. 

In  the  Conspectus,  or  Distribution  into  Families  and  Genera, 
1  have  attempted  to  offer  a  substitute,  so  far  as  the  plants  treat- 
ed of  in  this  Report  are  concerned,  for  the  arrangement  by  the 
artificial  system.  This  attempt  I  submit  with  many  misgivings. 
If  it  shall  be  considered  a  failure,  it  may  at  least  serve  to  aid 
others  in  more  successfully  accomplishing  the  object. 

My  sketches  of  the  natural  families,  and,  in  a  considerable 
degree,  of  the  genera,  are  necessarily  drawn  mostly  from  books ; 
and,  as  they  are  taken  from  the  standard  works  of  the  science, 
Endlicher,  Lindley,  Torrey,  and  others,  are  usually  given  with- 
out particular  acknowledgment  of  the  source.  Botanists  will 
here,  however,  find  some  points  touched  upon  which  have  not 
usually  received  much  attention  from  scientific  writers. 

The  descriptions  of  the  species  of  all  the  trees,  and  nearly  all 
the  shrubs,  are  my  own,  except  where  I  have  expressly  given 
credit  to  others.  To  collect  my  materials,  I  have  scoured  the 
forests  in  almost  every  part  of  the  State,  from  the  western  hills 
of  Berkshire  to  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  from  the  banks  of  the 
Merrimack  to  the  shores  of  Buzzard's  and  Narragansett  Bays. 
The  leisure  of  several  summers  was  first  spent  in  ascertaining 
what  the  ligneous  plants  of  Massachusetts  are,  and  how  they 
are  distributed.  If  I  have  not  discovered  new  species,  I  have 
found  new  localities  for  several  oaks,  willows,  poplars,  pines, 
and  birches,  and  some  others  of  less  importance,  and  have  thus 
enlarged  the  Flora  of  the  State.  That  some  species  have  escaped 
me  is  altogether  probable,  as,  even  in  the  summer  of  1845, 1  found 
the  Red  Birch  growing  abundantly  on  a  branch  of  the  Merrimack, 
some  hundreds  of  miles  further  north  than  it  had  previonslv 
been  noticed  by  any  botanist: 

Al'ie-    having   become  familiar  with  the  trees  and  their  local- 


PREFACE.  Vll 

Hies,  I  began  to  collect  materials  for  their  description;  and 
every  important  tree  and  shrub  has  been  described  from  copious 
notes  taken  under  or  near  the  growing  plant  itself.  A  point 
with  which  I  have  each  year  been  more  and  more  struck,  is  the 
beauty  of  our  native  trees  and  of  the  climbing  vines  and  under- 
growth associated  with  them.  I  have  thrown  aside  much  which 
I  had  written  upon  this  point.  Utilitarian  readers  will  perhaps 
find  too  much  still  retained.  My  apology  for  not  pruning  more 
severely  must  be  found  in  my  sincere  conviction,  that  associa- 
tions with  the  beauty  of  trees  about  our  country  homes  enter 
deeply  into  the  best  elements  of  our  character ;  and  a  hope 
that  what  I  have  written  may  induce  some  of  my  readers 
to  plant  trees,  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  beauty  and  the 
appearance  of  seclusion  and  quiet  of  the  homes  of  their  wives 
and  children. 

In  the  progress  of  the  work,  I  found  it  necessary  to  curtail 
very  considerably  what  I  had  prepared,  especially  in  regard  to 
the  families  and  genera,  as  it  was  evident,  if  I  should  go  on  to 
describe  all  the  families  with  the  same  minuteness  of  detail  even 
as  is  given  to  the  pines  and  oaks,  I  should  write  several  volumes 
instead  of  one. 

It  was  my  original  intention  to  add  to  the  volume,  in  the 
form  of  an  appendix,  a  strictly  scientific  synopsis  of  the  fam- 
ilies, genera  and  species,  with  synonymes  and  references  in  the 
usual  form.  But  as  the  volume  is  already  large,  I  have  con- 
cluded to  suppress  this,  although,  by  so  doing,  I  subject  myself 
to  the  charge  of  omitting  or  neglecting  several  things  of  impor- 
tance. All  omissions  and  defects  will,  however,  I  trust,  at  no 
distant  period,  be  much  more  than  supplied.  The  Genera  of  New 
England  plants,  by  Prof.  Gray,  now,  I  understand,  in  a  forward 
state  of  preparation,  and  the  Flora  of  New  England,  by  that 
most  thorough  botanist,  Wm.  Oakes,  for  which  all  the  friends 
of  Natural  Science  have  long  been  anxiously  looking,  will, 
when  they  appear,  place  the  botany  of  New  England  where 
it  should  be  ;  and  show  the  difference  between  the  work  of  men 
who  are  able  to  give  the  labor  of  years  to  the  favorite  pursuit  of 
their  lives,  and  the  hasty  sketch  of  one  whose  heart,  he  is 
obliged  to  confess,  is,  most  of  the  year,  wholly  in  other  things, 


in  PREFACE. 

and  who  gives  to  a  work  great  enough  to  command  a  life,  the 
scanty  hours  of  recreation  of  his  summer  holidays. 

A  Report  upon  the  Botany  of  the  State  is  certainly  very 
incomplete,  without  even  an  enumeration  of  the  Algse,  the 
Mosses,  the  Lichens,  and  the  Fungi ;  and,  with  a  hope  to  pre- 
vent this  omission,  I  furnished  myself,  at  the  commencement  of 
this  Survey,  with  several  somewhat  expensive  works  upon  these 
departments  of  botany.  But  I  am  obliged  to  confess,  that  I  have 
been  able  to  do  very  little  in  regard  to  them.  Since  the  com- 
mencement of  this  Survey,  my  friend,  Rev.  J.  L.  Russell,  of 
Hingham,  has  carefully  prepared  a  catalogue  of  the  mosses  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  which  he  was  kind  enough  to 
place  at  my  disposal.  I  was  not  willing  that  its  publication 
should  be  delayed  till  the  appearance  of  this  volume,  and  it  has 
been  published  in  the  Boston  Journal  of  Natural  History.  Mr. 
lid  ward  Tuckerman  also  prepared,  at  my  request,  a  catalogue 
of  the  lichens  found  on  the  bark  of  trees  in  this  State.  As 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  soon  give  us  a  complete  account  of 
the  lichens  of  New  England,  for  which  work  he  is  amply  pre- 
pared, it  would  be  doing  him  injustice  to  publish  an  imperfect 
catalogue.  The  deficiency  in  the  history  of  the  Algse  is  likely 
to  be  soon  supplied,  by  Prof.  Bailey,  of  West  Point,  in  the 
thorough  manner  of  which  he  has  given  evidence  in  the  Scien- 
tific  Journal. 

In  writing  my  descriptions,  I  have,  as  far  as  possible,  avoided 
the  use  of  technical  language.  To  avoid  it  entirely  is  im- 
possible. When  a  part,  an  organ,  a  form,  or  a  modification 
of  form  is  spoken  of  which  has  no  English  name,  it  must 
cither  be  called  by  its  scientific  name,  or  it  must  be  described 
by  a  tedious  circumlocution,  repeated  as  often  as  the  thing  is 
spoken  of,  and,  after  all,  scarcely  more  intelligible  even  to  the 
unlearned  reader  than  the  scientific  word,  which  expresses  pre- 
cisely the  thing  meant  and  nothing  else. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  Report,  I  have  availed  myself  of 
whatever  I  found  most  to  my  purpose,  but  never,  intention- 
ally, without  giving  credit,  except  in  the  cases  mentioned 
aliovc.  The  numerous  facts  obtained  from  Loudon  and  Mi- 
chauXj  are  usually  given  in   their  words.  -Some  of  the  best 


PREFACE.  IX 

things  are  quoted  from  the  incomparable  descriptions  of  Bige- 
low.  I  am  under  obligations  to  Dr.  Gray  for  suggestions  in 
regard  to  the  distribution  into  families  and  genera ;  but  I  should 
be  sorry,  to  have  him  considered  responsible  for  any  thing 
in  its  execution.  Mr.  Oakes  has  furnished  me  with  many 
beautiful  specimens,  such  as  nobody  else  can  make.  To  Mr. 
Russell,  I  am  indebted  for  a  communication  upon  the  Pitch 
Pine,  and  for  other  favors,  as  well  as  for  the  catalogue  of 
Mosses.  To  my  friends,  Messrs.  E.  Tuckerman  and  B.  D. 
Greene,  I  owe  thanks  for  the  use  of  specimens  from  their  exten- 
sive herbaria.  Dr.  Barratt,  of  Middletown,  Conn.,  has  given  me 
important  assistance  in  the  study  of  the  Poplars  and  Willows ; 
and  from  the  invaluable  Report  of  my  friend  Dr.  Harris,  I 
have,  with  his  consent,  obtained  much  information,  not  to  be 
found  elsewhere,  in  regard  to  insects. 

To  so  many  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  am  I  indebted 
for  aid  received  in  conducting  the  Survey  and  ascertaining  the 
condition  of  the  forests,  that  I  can  do  no  more  than  mention 
their  names.  From  Hon.  D.  P.  King  and  Messrs.  S.  P.  Fowler, 
of  Danvers ;  Josiah  Newhall,  of  Lynnfield,  and  Lilley  Eaton,  of 
South  Reading ;  J.  L.  Lewis,  of  Hingham,  Samuel  A.  Turner, 
of  South  Scituate,  and  my  friend  G.  P.  Bradford,  then  of  Ply- 
mouth ;  from  Messrs.  Chester  Adams,  of  South  Natick,  and 
Daniel  Adams,  3d,  of  Newbury ;  Daniel  Davis,  of  Fairhaven, 
Thomas  A.  Greene,  of  New  Bedford,  and  Hezekiah  Barnard, 
of  Nantucket ;  S.  Davis,  of  Truro,  Solomon  Freeman,  of  Brews- 
ter, and  E.  Swift,  of  Falmouth ;  from  Messrs.  Jabez  Newel,  and 
Abijah  M.  Ide,  of  South  Attleborough ;  Rhodolphus  Sanderson, 
of  East  Whately,  and  D.  Willard,  of  Greenfield:  C.  B.  Rising, 
of  Worthington,  and  Joseph  Field,  of  Charlemont;  C.  S.  Dar- 
ling, of  Gill,  and  Samuel  Mixter,  of  New  Braintree ;  Allen  C. 
Metcalf,  of  Lenox,  J.  H.  Cobb,  of  Dedham,  and  S.  Salisbury, 
of  Worcester ;  from  Henry  Colman,  of  the  Agricultural  Sur- 
vey, and  especially  from  Wm.  Bacon,  of  Richmond,  Austin 
Bacon,  of  Natick,  and  Henry  W.  Cushman,  of  Bernardston, 
I  received  very  useful  letters, — from  the  three  latter  gentlemen, 
communications  of  great  value. 

From  Messrs.  P.  T.  Jackson,  N.  Hale,  Ch.  L.  Storrow,  B.  T. 


X  PREFACE. 

Reed,  W.  Raymond  Lee,  of  Boston,  and  A.  E.  Swasey,  of 
Taunton,  I  received  facilities  in  ascertaining  the  quantity  of 
wood  consumed  on  rail-roads ;  and  from  my  friends,  T.  B. 
Curtis,  of  Boston,  and  H.  Kingsbury,  of  Kennebunk,  Me.,  let- 
ters containing  valuable  information  in  regard  to  the  kinds  and 
quantities  of  wood  employed  in  ship-building. 

To  my  friends,  Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes,  whose  poetical  eye  is  also 
an  eye  for  trees,  and  J.  J.  Dixwell,  who  knows  how  to  represent 
them,  I  am  indebted  for  numerous  measurements  of  trees  ;  and 
to  my  learned  friend  Dr.  A.  A.  Gould,  who,  to  his  other  attain- 
ments in  natural  science,  unites  a  familiar  knowledge  of  botany, 
I  am  particularly  indebted  for  most  important  advice  and  assist- 
ance in  very  many  instances. 

In  the  ship-yards  in  Boston,  New  Bedford  and  other  towns 
in  the  State,  and  the  numerous  saw-mills,  machine-shops,  and 
manufactories  of  furniture,  of  agricultural  implements,  and  of  all 
other  articles  of  wood,  and  on  the  farms  and  wood-lots  in  all 
parts  of  the  Commonwealth,  whither  I  went,  in  almost  all  in- 
stances, a  stranger,  to  make  inquiries, — every  where,  with  one 
solitary  exception,  1  was  very  civilly  received,  and  had  my  ques- 
tions answered  with  the  greatest  kindness  and  intelligence ;  and 
every  where  I  found  a  readiness  to  furnish  me,  or  let  me  furnish 
myself,  with  specimens  of  the  flowers,  leaves,  fruit  and  wood  of 
the  trees  I  was  examining.  To  all  persons  from  whom  I  have 
received  these  acts  of  kindness,  I  would  here  make  my  cordial 
acknowledgments.  I  shall  always  esteem  it  one  of  the  best  fruits 
of  my  labors  in  this  Survey,  that  they  have  brought  me  better 
acquainted  than  I  otherwise  could  have  been,  with  the  intelli- 
gence, hospitality,  and  good  and  kind  manners  of  the  com- 
mon people  in  every  part  of  the  State.  If  there  are  better 
manners  and  a  higher  intelligence  among  the  people  in  other 
countries,  I  should  like  to  travel  amongst  them ;  but  I  very 
much  doubt  whether,  in  any  country  on  which  the  sun  shines, 
there  arc,  amongst  the  people  in  common  life,  more  of  those  qual- 
ities which  are  always  pleasant  to  meet  with,  delightful  to  re- 
member, and  most  honorable  to  our  common  humanity  to  record, 
than  are  found  among  the  independent  mechanics  and  yeomanry 
of  Massachusetts. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


The  Forests,  page  1.  Object  of  the  Report,  2.  Uses  of  the  forests  ; — form  a  soil,  3. 
Conduct  electricity,  4.  Soften  the  climate,  protect  from  winds,  5.  Give  beauty  to 
a  country,  6.  Variety  of  our  forest  trees,  9.  Use  for  shade,  10.  Furnish  ma- 
terials for  the  arts,  11.  Shipbuilding,  12.  The  forests  wasted,  13.  Maple  sugar, 
14.  Fuel,  14.  Continuation  and  improvement  of  the  forests,  16.  Species  of  trees, 
17.  Names  little  known,  18.  Trees  for  fuel,  shipbuilding,  19.  Fencing,  fur- 
niture, implements,  tanning,  20.  Improvable  lands,  21.  Rocky  hills  ;  marshes, 
22.  Thinning  and  pruning,  23.  The  principle  of  pruning  ;  mode,  24.  Select- 
ing, 25.  Cutting  smooth;  how  soon  renewed,  25.  Age,  27.  Season,  27.  Suc- 
cession of  forests,  29.  Things  injurious  to  a  forest :  browsing,  injudicious  prun- 
ing, sea  breeze,  31  Upon  planting  near  the  sea  ;  on  exposed  hills,  32.  Strength 
and  durability  of  timber,  33.     Buffon's  mode  of  felling,  34. 

Woody  Plants  of  Massachusetts  ;  distribution  into  families  and  genera  ;  description 
of  a  flower  and  fruit,  37.  Figures,  38.  Division  into  families,  39.  Plants  with 
opposite  leaves,  40.     Plants  with  alternate  leaves,  41.     Division  into  genera,  42. 

FIRST  GENERAL  DIVISION.     Dicotyledonous  Plants,  45. 

Chapter  I.     Plants  with  naked  seeds. 

Family  I.  Pine  Family,  47.  Products  of  the  pines,  48.  Root;  trunk,  49. 
Branches;  wood,  50.  Leaves,  51.  Buds;  flower,  52.  Fruit,  53.  Insects  on 
the  pines,  54.  Soil  for  pines,  56.  Propagation  and  culture,  57.  Transplanting  ; 
division,  59.  Section  First.  Pine  and  Fir  Tribe.  Genus  1.  The  Pine.  Sp.  1. 
White  pine,  60.  Sp.  2.  Pitch  pine,  66.  Planting  with,  71.  Sp.  3.  Red  or  Nor- 
way pine,  74.  Genus  2.  Spruce.  Sp.  1.  Hemlock,  77.  Sp.  2.  Black  or  Dou- 
ble Spruce,  81.  Sp.  3.  Single  or  White  Spruce,  84.  Genus  3.  Fir.  Sp.  1.  Bal- 
sam fir,  85.  European  fir.  Sp.  2.  Double  balsam  fir,  88.  Genus  4.  Larch. 
Sp.  1.  Hacmatack,  89.  Planting  with  larch,  91.  Cedar  of  Lebanon,  95. 
Section  Second.  Cypress  Tribe.  Genus5.  Arbor  Vita?.  Cedar.  Sp.  1.  Ameri- 
can arbor  vita?,  96.  Genus  6.  Cedar  or  Cypress.  Sp.  1.  White  cedar,  98.  Fence 
of,  100.  European  cypress,  Southern  cypress,  101.  Genus  7.  Juniper.  Sp.  1. 
Red  cedar,  102.  Cedar  apple,  106.  Sp.  2.  Juniper,  108.  Section  Third 
The  Yews.     Genus  8.  Yew,  110.     Sp.  1.  Ground  hemlock,  111. 

Chapter  II.     Amentaceous  Plants. 

Family  II.  Oak  Family,  113.  Genus  1.  Oak,  115.  Value,  116.  Insects  on, 
117.  Bark,  120.  Root,  121.  Flowers ;  fruit,  122.  Growth,  123.  Species,  124. 
Arrangement,  125.     Table  of  species,  126.     Sp.  1.   White  oak,  127.     Sp.  2. 


11  5 1 


Xii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Overcup  White,  132.     Sp.  3.  Post  or  Rough,  133.     Sp.  4.  Swamp  White,  135. 

Sp.  5.  Chestnut,  137.     Sp.  6.  Rock  chestnut,  138.     Sp.  7.  Little  Chincapin,  140. 

Sp.  8.  Black  or  Yellow-barked,  141.     Sp.  9.  Scarlet,  144.     Sp.  10.  Red,  148. 

Sp.   11.    Bear,   150.     Grouping  of  the   oaks,   151.     Planting  with   oaks,   152. 

English  oaks,  157.     Genus  2.  Beech.     Sp.  1.  American,  158.     European.  162. 

Genus  3.  Chestnut,  163.     Sp.  1.  American,  164.     Genus  4.  Hazel,  170.     Sp.  1. 

American,  171.     Sp.  2.  Beaked,  173. 
Family  III.     Hornbeam  Family.     Genus  1.  Hornbeam.     Sp.  1.  American,  174. 

Genus  2.  Hop  Hornbeam.     Sp.  1.  American,  177. 
Family  IV.     Walnut  Family,  180.     Insects,  180.     Genus  1.  Walnut,  181.     Sp.  1. 

Butternut  or  oilnut,  182.     Sp.  2.  Black  walnut,  185.     Genus  2.  Hickory,  187. 

Sp.  1.  Shellbark,  191.     Sp.  2.  Mockernut,  194.     Sp.  3.  Pignut,  197.     Sp.  4. 

Bitternut,  199. 
Family  V.     Birch  Family,  201.     Genus  1.  Birch,  202.     Sp.  1.  Black,  or  Sweet, 

203.     Sp.  2.  Yellow,  206.     Sp.  3.  Red,  208.     Sp.  4.  Canoe,  210.     Sp.  5.  White, 

213.    European  Birch,  215.    Planting,  216.    Genus  2.  Alder,  217.    Sp.  1.  Com- 
mon, 218.     Sp.  2.  Speckled,  220. 
Family  VI.     Wax  Myrtle  Family.    Genus  1.  Myrtle.     Sp.  1.  Sweet  Gale  or  Dutch 

Myrtle,  222.     Sp.  2.  Bay  Berry  or  Wax  Myrtle,  224.     Genus  2.  Liquidamber. 

Sp.  1.  Sweet  fern,  225. 
Family  VII.    Plane  Tree  Family,  226.    Genus  1.  Plane  Tree.    Sp.  1.  Buttonwood, 

or  occidental  Plane,  227.    Malady  in  the  buttonwoods,  232.    Oriental  Plane,  235. 

Californian,  237. 
Family  VIII.    Willow  Family,  239.    Genus  1.  Poplar,  240.    Insects  on,  242.    Sp. 

1.  Large,  242.     Sp.  2.  American  aspen,  243.     Sp.  3.  Balm  of  Gilead,  245.     Sp. 

4.  River,  246.     Sp.  5.  Necklace,  249.     True  Balsam  poplar,  251.     Genus  2. 

Willow,  252.     Group  1.  Sallows.     Sp.  1.  Sage,  255.  Var.  2,  256— var.  3,  257. 

Sp.  2.  Muhlenberg's,  257.     Group  2.  Two-colored.     Sp.  3.  Bog,  25S.     Sp.  4. 

Woolly-headed  Swamp.     Sp.  5.  Prinos-like,  259.     Sp.  6.  Dense-flowered  Early, 

260.     Sp.  7.  Frost  or  Tender,  261.     Group  3.  Sp.  8.  Brittle  Gray,  262.     Group 

4.  Osiers.    Group  5.  Brittle,  263.     Sp.  9.  Crack,  264.     Sp.  10.  Varnished,  265. 

Sp.  11.  Bedford,  266.     Sp.  12.  Glossy,  267.     Group  6.  White.     Sp.  13.  The 

White,  268.     Blue.     Sp.  14.   Yellow  Willow,  or  Golden   Osier,  269.     Sp.  15. 

Weeping,  270.     Sp.  16.  Black,  271.     Sp.  17.  Pursh's,  272.     Group  7.  Ochre- 
flowered.    Sp.  18.  Beaked,  274.    Group  8.  Cordate.    Sp.  19.  Heart-leaved,  275. 

Sp.  20.  Stiff-leaved,  276.     Sp.  21.  Torrey's,  277. 
Family  IX.    Bread-Fruit  Family,  279.     Genus  1.  Mulberry  Tree.     Sp.  1.  Red 

Mulberry,  280.    Paper  Mulberry  ;  Osage  orange,  2S2. 

Chapter  III.     Plants  ivhose  Floivers  are  without  Petals,  and  not  arranged 

in  Aments. 
Family  X.  Elm  Family,  284.  Genus  1.  Elm,  285.  Insects  on,  286.  Sp.  1. 
American  Elm,  or  White  Elm,  286.  Sp.  2.  Slippery  Elm,  297.  English  Elm, 
299.  Scotch  Elm,  305.  River  Elm  ;  Racemed  Elm,  305.  Genus  2.  Nettle 
Tree.  Sp.  1.  American,  306.  Sp.  2.  Hackbcrry,  309.  Planer  tree ;  Tselkwa 
tree,  312. 


«. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Family  XL  Sandal  Wood  Family,  312.  Genus  1.  Tupelo,  313.  Sp.  1.  Tupelo 
tree,  Snag,  Horn  Pine,  or  Pepperidge,  313. 

Family  XII.  Cinnamon  Family,  317.  Genus  1.  Sp.  1.  Sassafras,  319.  Insects 
on,  321.    Genus  2.  Benzoin.     Sp.  1.  Fever  Bush  or  Spice  Bush,  324. 

Family  XIII.     Mezereum  Family.     Genus  1.  Dirca.     Sp.  1.  Leather  wood,  325. 

Family  XIV.  Crowberry  Family.  Genus  1.  Oakesia.  Sp.  1.  Plymouth  Crow- 
berry,  327. 

Chapter  IV.     Monopetalous  Plants. 

Family  XV.  Olive  Family,  329.  1.  Olive  Tribe.  Genus  1.  Privet.  Sp.  1.  Com- 
mon Prim,  330.  2.  Lilac  Tribe.  3.  Ash  Tribe.  Genus  2.  Ash,  332.  Sp.  1. 
White,  333.     Sp.  2.  Red,  337.     Sp.  3.  BlacK,  338.     European,  339. 

Family  XVI.  Holly  Family,  340.  Genus  1.  Holly.  Sp.  1.  American,  341. 
Genus  2.  Wild  Holly.  Sp.  1.  Mountain,  343.  Genus  3.  Winter  Berry.  Sp.  1. 
Black  Alder,  344.    Sp.  2.  Single  Berry  Black  Alder,  345.    Sp.  3.  Ink  Berry,  346. 

Family  XVII.  Madder  Family,  347.  Coffee,  348.  Genus  1.  Sp.  1.  Button  Bush, 
349.    Genus  2.  Sp.  1.  Partridge  Berry,  351. 

Family  XVIII.  Honeysuckle  Family,  352.  Genus  1.  Linneea.  Sp.  1.  Twin- 
flower,  353.  Genus  2.  Triosteum,  354.  Sp.  1.  Fever  Root,  355.  Genus  3. 
Lonicera.  Sp.  1.  Hairy  Honeysuckle,  356.  Sp.  2.  Small-flowered  Yellow  Hon- 
eysuckle, Woodbine.  Evergreen  Honeysuckle,  357.  Japan  Honeysuckle.  Sp. 
3.  Fly  Honeysuckle,  358.  Sp.  4.  Hairy  Fly  Honeysuckle.  Genus 4.  Diervilla. 
Sp.  1.  Three-flowered  Bush  Honeysuckle,  359. 

Family  XIX.  Elder  Family,  360.  Genus  1.  Elder.  Sp.  1.  Panicled,  361.  Sp. 
2.  Common,  362.  Genus  2.  Guelder  Rose.  Viburnum.  Section  1.  Sp.  1. 
Naked  Viburnum.  Sp.  2.  Sweet,  364.  Sp.  3.  Arrow  Wood,  366.  Sp.  4.  Ma- 
ple-leaved Arrow  Wood,  367.  Section  2.  Sp.  1.  Cranberry  Tree,  368.  Sp.  2. 
Wayfaring  Tree,  369. 

Family  XX.  Heath  Family,  370.  Andromeda  Tribe.  Genus  1.  Andromeda,  371. 
Sp.  1.  Water  Andromeda,  372.  Genus  2.  Cassandra.  Sp.  1.  Dwarf,  373.  Ge- 
nus 3.  Lyonia,  374.  Sp.  1.  Panicled.  Genus  4.  Zenobia,  375.  Sp.  1.  Cluster- 
ed, 376.  Genus  5.  Clethra.  Sp.  1.  Alder-leaved,  377.  Genus  6.  Epigeea.  Sp. 
1.  May  Flower,  378.  Genus  7.  Gaultheria,  379.  Sp.  1.  Chequer  Berry,  380. 
Genus  8.  Bear  Berry.  Sp.  1.  Common,  381.  Rhodora  Tribe,  382.  Genus  9. 
Rhododendron,  383.  Sp.  1.  American  Rose  Bay,  384.  Section  Azalea.  Sp. 
1.  Swamp  Pink,  387.  Sp.  2.  Upright  Honeysuckle,  389.  Rhodora.  Sp.  1. 
Canada.  Genus  10.  Kalmia,  390.  Sp.  1.  Mountain  Laurel,  392.  Sp.  2.  Nar- 
row-leaved Kalmia.  Sp.  3.  Glaucous,  394.  Genus  11.  Ledum,  395.  Sp.  1. 
Labrador  Tea,  396. 

Family  XXI.  Whortleberry  Family,  397.  Genus  1.  Whortleberry,  398.  Sp.  1. 
Black.  Sp.  2.  Dangleberry,  399.  Sp.  3.  Bush  Whortleberry,  400.  Sp.  4. 
Deerberry,  401.  Sp.  5.  High  Bush  Whortleberry,  401.  Black  Swamp.  Sp.  6. 
Blue,  402.  Sp.  7.  Low  Blueberry,  403,  Sp.  8.  Cowberry,  404.  Genus  2. 
Cranberry.  Sp.  1.  Common,- 405.  Sp.  2.  European.  Genus  3.  Chiogenes,  406. 
Sp.  1.  Mountain  Partridge  Berry,  407. 
Trumpet  Flower,  407. 


Xiv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  V.    Plants  with  the  Petals  and  Stamens  growing  from  the  Calyx, 

except  in  Cornus. 

Family  XXII.     Cornus  Family.     Genus  1.  Cornel,  408.     Section  1.     Sp.  1.  Al 
ternate-leaved,  409.     Sp.  2.  Round-leaved.     Sp.  3.  Red-stemmed,  410.     Sp.  4- 
Panicled.     Sp.  5.   Silky,  411.     Section  2.     Sp.  6.   Flowering  Dogwood,  413. 
Section  3.     Sp.  7.  Dwarf  Cornel,  415. 

Family  XXIII.  Witch  Hazel  Family.  Genus  1.  Witch  Hazel.  Sp.  1.  Com- 
mon, 416. 

Family  XXI V.  Currant  Family,  419.  Genus  1.  Ribes.  Sp.  1.  Prickly  Gooseber- 
ry. Sp.  2.  Common  Wild,  420.  Sp.  3.  Round-leaved.  Sp.  4.  Swamp,  421.  Sp. 
5.  Large  flowering  currant.     Sp.  6.  Mountain,  422. 

Family  XXV.    Cactus  Family,  423.    Genus  1.  Indian  Fig.    Sp.  1.  Prickly  Fear,  424. 

Family  XXVI.  Rose  Family,  425.  Spikjea  Tribe.  Genus  1.  Spiraa.  Sp.  1. 
Nine  Bark,  426.  Sp.  2.  Queen  of  the  Meadows.  Sp.  3.  Steeple  Bush,  427. 
Bramble  Tribe.  Flowering  Raspberry,  428.  Red  Raspberry  ;  High  Black- 
berry ;  Low  Blackberry.  Thimbleberry.  Bristly  Blackberry.  Rose  Tribe,  429. 
Early  Wild  Rose  ;  Swamp ;  Shining,  430. 

Family  XXVII.  Apple  Family.  Genus  1.  Thorn,  430.  Sp.  1.  Cockspur,  433. 
Sp.  2.  Scarlet-fruited,  434.  Sp.  3.  Pear-leaved.  Sp.  4.  Dotted-fruited,  435. 
Genus  2.  Pear,  436.  Pear  Tree,  437.  Apple,  438.  Sp.  1.  American  Mountain 
Ash,  439.  Rowan  Tree,  440.  Sp.  2.  Choke  Berry,  441.  Genus  3.  Wild  Sugar 
Pear,  442.  Sp.  1.  Shad  Bush.  Variety  1.  June  Berry,  443.  Var.  2.  Swamp 
Sugar  Pear,  444.     Quince,  446. 

Family  XXVIII.  Almond  Family,  446.  Insects  on,  447.  Genus  1.  Plum,  448. 
Sp.  1.  Beech.  Sp.  2.  Yellow,  449.  Wild  Bullace  Tree,  450.  Genus  2.  Cherry. 
Section  1.  Sp.  1.  Northern  Red,  451.  Sp.  2.  Sand.  Section  2.  Sp.  3.  Black, 
453.     Sp.  4.  Choke,  456. 

Family  XXIX.  Bean  Family,  456.  Genus  1.  Locust,  458.  Insects  on,  459.  Sp. 
1.  Common  Locust,  460.     Kentucky  Coffee  Tree.     Canada  Judas  Tree,  465. 

Chapter  VI.    Plants  with  many  Petals  which  grow,  together  with  the  Stamens, 
about  or  upon  a  Disk  surrounding  the  Seed-vessel. 

Family  XXX.  The  Vine  Family.  Genus  1.  Grape  Vine,  466.  Sp.  1.  Fox 
Grape,  467.  Sp.  2.  Summer,  469.  Sp.  3.  Wine.  Sp.  4.  River  or  Sweet-scent- 
ed, 470.     Genus  2.  Ampelopsis.     Sp.  1.  Virginian  Creeper,  471. 

Family  XXXI.  Buckthorn  Family,  472.  Genus  1.  Buckthorn.  Sp.  1.  Common, 
473.  Sp.  2.  Alder-leaved,  474.  Genus  2.  Ceanothus.  Sp.  1.  New  Jersey  Tea, 
475. 

Family  XXXII.     Staff-Tree  Family,  476.     Genus  1.  Bladder-nut.     Sp.  1.  Three- 
leaved,  477.     Genus  2.    Staff-Tree.     Sp.  1.   Waxwork,  478. 
Horse-Chestnut  Tree,  479. 

Family  XXXIII.  Maple  Family,  480.  Genus  1.  Maple.  Large-leaved  ;  Round- 
leaved;  Norway;  Field;  Montpelier;  Guelder-rose-leaved;  Italian;  Tartarean; 
Smooth-leaved  ;  Sycamore,  481.  Insects,  482.  Sp.  1.  Red  Maple,  483.  Colors 
(if  the  leaves  not  caused  by  frost,  484.  Causes,  485.  Sp.  2.  White  Maple,  487. 
Sp.  3.  Rock  or  Sugar,  489.  Varieties  of  the  Wood,  491.  Making  of  Sugar, 
493.     Sp.  4.  Striped  Maple,  496.     Sp.  5.  Mountain,  497. 


TABLE  OP  CONTENTS.  XV 

Chapter  VII.     Polypetalous  Plants  with  Stamens  and  Petals  growing  upon 

the  receptacle. 

Family  XXXIV.    Sumach  Family,  499.    Genus  1.  Sumach.    Tanner's ;  Varnish ; 

Venetian;  Smoke  Tree,  500.     Sp.  1.  Stag's  Horn,  501.     Sp.  2.  Smooth,  502. 

Sp.  3.  Mountain  or  Dwarf,  503.     Sp.  4.  Poison,  504.     Indian  Poke  a  remedy 

for  the  poison,  505.     Sp.  5.  Poison  Ivy,  506.     Sp.  6.  Fragrant  Sumach,  507. 
Family  XXXV.    Prickly   Ash   Family.     Genus  1.   Xanthbxylum,  508.     Sp.  1. 

Prickly  Ash,  509. 
Family  XXXVI.     Linden  Family.     Genus  1.  Linden  or  Lime  Tree,  510.     Sp.  1. 

Bass  Wood,  511. 
Family  XXXVII.    Rock  Rose  Family,  515.    Genus  1.  Sun  Rose,  516.    Sp.  1. 

Canada.     Genus  2.  Pinweed,  517.     Sp.  1.  Large.     Sp.  2.  Thyme-leaved.     Sp. 

3.  Small.     Genus  3.  Hudsonia,  518.     Sp.  1.  Downy.     Sp.  2.  Heath-like,   519. 
Family  XXXVIII.    Barberry  Family.    Genus  1.  Barberry,  520.     Sp.  1.   Com- 
mon, 521. 
Family  XXXIX.     Moonseed  Family,  524.     Genus  1.  Moonseed.     Sp.  1.  Canada. 
Family  XL.    Magnolia  Family,  525.    Genus  1.  Magnolia,  526.    Cucumber  Tree  ; 

Long-leaved  Cucumber  ;   Three-petalled  ;  Heart-leaved  ;  Yulan  ;  Purple.     Sp. 

1.  Small  Magnolia,  527.    Genus  2.  Liriodendron.     Sp.  1.  Tulip  Tree,  529. 

SECOND  GENERAL  DIVISION. 

Chapter  VIII.     Monocotyledonous  Plants. 

Family  XLI.     Smilax  Family,  532.     Genus.  1.  Smilax.     Sp.  1.  Green  Briar,  533. 
Sp.  2.  Carrion  Flower,  534. 

Explanation  of  the  Plates,  535.     Index,  536.     Plates. 


. 


TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


THE  FORESTS. 


The  immense  variety,  the  many  and  important  uses,  and 
the  great  beauty  of  our  forests,  must,  naturally,  attract  the 
attention  of  an  observer ;  and,  as  the  preservation  and  im- 
provement of  the  forests,  in  their  highest  degree,  are  above 
private  effort,  require  joint  action,  and  must  be  effected  on  a 
large  scale,  on  a  system  wisely  begun  and  long  continued,  by 
the  men  of  one  generation  for  those  of  the  next;  and  by  the 
application  of  science,  taste  and  skill,  not  by  one  but  by  many 
men,  not  in  one  village  or  town,  but  in  a  county  and  state ; 
it  is  wise  in  a  government  not  acting  merely  for  the  present, 
but  extending  its  forethought  generously  onwards,  making  its 
knowledge  and  wisdom  an  invested  capital  for  future  use,  and 
desiring  to  do  for  coming  generations,  what  they,  when  looking 
back,  shall  wish  it  had  done, — it  is  wise,  prudent  and  patriotic 
for  such  a  government  to  order  a  survey  of  the  forests,  among 
its  other  domains,  that  the  people  may  know  the  sources  of 
their  wealth  and  its  extent,  and  learn  how  to  value,  enlarge 
and  enjoy  it.  The  conception  and  ordering  of  this  general  sur- 
vey, was  worthy  of  the  descendants  of  those  who  established 
free  schools,  free  courts  of  justice,  and  freedom  in  religion. 
The  idea  was  a  noble  one,  with  whatever  success  the  work 
may  have  been  executed. 
1 


2  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  object  of  the  present  report,  which  comes  tardily  in  to 
complete  the  survey  so  well  accomplished  by  the  other  gentle- 
men engaged  in  it,  is  to  describe  the  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  for- 
ests of  Massachusetts,  to  set  forth  their  importance,  their  general 
and  particular  relations,  uses  and  properties,  and  the  modes  by 
which  they  may  be  preserved,  propagated,  and  improved.  It  is 
not  written  for  the  use  of  men  of  science.  If  any  such  read  it, 
however,  they  may  find  in  it  many  particulars  relating  to 
trees,  which  have  not  been  hitherto  recorded;  as  they  may  miss 
much  which  a  more  scientific  inquiry  would  have  brought  to 
light.  But  it  is  for  the  common,  unlearned  citizens,  who  live 
on  farms,  in  the  country,  and  have  few  books  and  little  leisure. 
It  is,  as  far  as  possible,  for  it  cannot  be  wholly,  divested  of 
technical  language,  in  order  that  they  may  understand  it.  And 
it  will  accomplish  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  written,  if  it 
awaken  them  to  a  deeper  sense  of  the  value  of  some  of  the 
blessings  by  which  they  are  surrounded,  and  lead  them,  or  any 
of  them,  to  resolve  to  preserve  the  old  forests  and  plant  new. 

A  few  generations  ago,  an  almost  unbroken  forest  covered 
the  continent.  The  smoke  from  the  Indian's  wigwam  rose 
only  at  distant  intervals ;  and  to  one  looking  from  Wachusett 
or  Mount  Washington,  the  small  patches  laid  open  for  the  cul- 
tivation of  maize,  interrupted  not  perceptibly  the  dark  green  of 
the  woods.  Now,  those  old  woods  are  every  where  falling. 
The  axe  has  made,  and  is  making,  wanton  and  terrible  havoc. 
The  cunning  foresight  of  the  Yankee  seems  to  desert  him  when 
he  takes  the  axe  in  hand.  The  new  settler  clears  in  a  year 
more  acres  than  he  can  cultivate  in  ten,  and  destroys  at  a  single 
burning  many  a  winter's  fuel,  which  would  better  be  kept  in 
reserve  for  his  grandchildren.  This  profuse  waste  is  checked, 
but  it  has  not  entirely  ceased.  It  is,  however,  giving  way  to 
better  views.  Even  since  this  survey  was  begun,  a  wiser  econ- 
omy shows  itself.  May  it  be  universal.  A  brief  consideration 
of  the  general  uses  of  forests  on  a  great  scale  may  have  a  ten- 
dency to  produce  this  effect. 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS. 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS. 


1.  Forests  create  or  gradually  but  constantly  improve  a  soil. 
The  roots  penetrate  deeply  into  the  ground,  and  thus  let  in  the 
air  to  produce  its  slow  but  sure  effects.  The  radicles  decom- 
pose the  grains  of  sand,  and  extract  from  them  some  of  the 
elements  essential  to  a  soil;  they  drink  in  moisture  and  the 
carbonic  acid  which  has  been  formed  beneath,  or  brought  down 
from  the  atmosphere  above,  the  surface ;  and  from  these  several 
elements,  acted  on  by  heat,  light  and  air,  in  the  leaves,  and  by 
that  unknown  influence,  vegetable  life,  are  formed  the  various 
substances  which  compose  the  plant.  The  annual  deposit  of 
leaves,  and  the  final  decay  of  the  branches  and  trunk,  go  to 
constitute  the  mould  upon  which  other  plants  grow.  And  the 
soil  thus  formed  is  kept  by  the  thick  matting  of  the  roots  from 
washing  away. 

An  unprotected  hill  soon  loses  its  soil.  Every  rain  bears 
away  a  portion,  till  it  becomes  a  bare  rock,  and  the  slow  pro- 
cess must  recommence  by  which  rock  had  been  originally  con- 
verted into  soil.  That  process  takes  place  slowly  on  all  uncov- 
ered rocks,  but  far  more  surely  and  rapidly  under  cover  of 
trees.  There  also  the  invisible  sporule,  borne  thither  on  the 
wind,  perhaps,  from  a  distant  continent,  attaches  itself  to  the 
naked  rock  and  vegetates  ;  encrusting  its  surface  with  a  lichen 
which  gets  thence  a  foothold  and  an  alkali,  while  it  lives  on 
the  atmosphere.  From  the  thin  layer  left  by  its  decay,  another 
species  springs,  which  in  turn  gives  place  to  mosses  and  herba- 
ceous plants.  Whoever  has  climbed  Monument  Mountain  in 
Stockbridge,  has  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  this  process 
in  its  different  stages  and  circumstances.  On  the  projecting 
cliffs  of  white  quartz,  of  which  the  mountain  consists,  the  beau- 
tiful lichens  which  paint  its  sides  have  made  no  more  progress 
than  if  the  mountain  had  been  thrown  up  two  years  ago.  They 
are  spread  upon  it  as  thin  as  paper,  and  perfectly  fresh. 
Wherever  they  decay,  the  violence  of  the  rain  and  winds 
washes  them  clean  off,  and  the  work  is  begun  each  year  anew. 
But  in  the  protected  crevices,  and  under  shelter  of  the  few  trees 


4  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

and  shrubs  that  have  found  root-hold  there,  a  soil  is  forming  or 
is  already  formed.  What  happens  here  takes  place  on  all  moun- 
tain tops  in  New  England.  A  sheltering  tree  allows  the  creative 
action  to  take  place. 

2.  Another  use  of  forests  is  to  serve  as  conductors  of  electricity 
between  the  clouds  and  its  great  reservoir  the  earth;  thus  giving 
activity  to  the  vital  powers  of  plants,  and  leading  the  clouds  to 
discharge  their  contents  upon  the  earth.  A  few  tall  trees  on 
the  summit  of  a  hill  are  sufficient  to  produce  this  effect.  A 
charged  thunder  cloud,  which  passes  unbroken  over  a  bare  hill, 
will  pour  down  its  moisture,  if  its  electricity  is  drawn  off  by 
these  natural  conductors.  The  dry  sterility  of  some  parts  of 
Spain,  anciently  very  fertile,  is  probably  owing,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, to  the  improvident  destruction  of  the  forests,  and  the  absurd 
laws  which  discourage  their  renewal.  The  forests  also  coat  the 
earth  and  keep  it  warm  in  winter,  shutting  in  the  central  heat 
which  would  otherwise  more  rapidly  radiate  into  space  and  be 
lost.  If  you  go  into  the  woods  at  the  end  of  a  severe  winter, 
you  may  any  where  easily  drive  down  a  stake  without  impedi- 
ment from  the  frost;  while,  in  the  open  field  by  their  edge,  you 
find  a  foot  or  more  of  earth  frozen  solid.  Forests  act  not  less 
favorably  as  a  protection  against  the  excessive  heat  of  the  sum- 
mer's sun,  which  rapidly  evaporates  the  moisture  and  parches 
up  the  surface.  The  first  mahogany  cutters  in  Honduras 
found  the  cold  under  the  immense  forests  so  great,  that  they 
were  obliged,  though  within  16°  of  the  equator,  to  kindle  fires 
to  keep  themselves  warm.*  The  rain,  falling  on  the  woods  of 
a  hill  side,  is  retained  by  the  deep  and  spongy  mass  formed 
by  the  roots  and  the  accumulated  deposit  of  leaves,  instead  of 
rushing  down,  as  it  otherwise  would,  in  torrents,  carrying  with 
it  great  quantities  of  loose  soil.  Protected  also  from  rapid  evap- 
oration, it  remains  laid  up  as  in  a  reservoir,  trickling  gradually 
out  and  forming  perennial  streams,  watering  and  fertilizing  the 

*  "At  Guiana,  in  South  America,  within  5°  of  the  line,  the  inhabitants  living 
amid  immense  forests,  a  century  ago,  were  obliged  to  alleviate  the  severity  of  the 
cold  by  evening  fires.  Even  the  duration  of  the  rainy  season  has  been  shortened 
by  the  clearing  of  the  country,  and  the  warmth  is  so  increased,  that  a  fire  now 
would  be  deemed  an  annoyance." — Tire's  Dictionary  of  Chemistry, — article,  Climate. 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS.  5 

low  country  through  the  longest  summers,  and  moderating  the 
violence  of  droughts  by  mists  and  dews.  All  along  the  coast  of 
New  England,  numerous  little  streams,  which  were  formerly  fed 
by  the  forests,  and  often  rolled  a  volume  of  water  sufficient  to 
turn  a  mill  in  summer,  are  now  dried  up  at  that  season,  and 
only  furnish  a  drain  for  the  melting  snows  of  spring,  or  the 
occasional  great  rains  of  autumn. 

Forests  thus  equalize  the  temperature  and  soften  the  climate, 
protecting  from  the  extremes  of  cold  and  heat,  dryness  and 
humidity.  There  is  little  doubt  that,  if  the  ancient  forests  of 
Spain  could  be  restored  to  its  hills,  its  ancient  fertility  would 
return.  Now,  there  is  nothing  to  conduct  electricity,  nothing  to 
arrest  the  clouds  and  make  them  pour  their  treasures  upon  the 
earth,  no  reservoirs  to  lay  up  the  winter's  rain  in  store  against 
the  droughts  of  summer. 

3.  Forests  protect  a  country  from  the  violence  of  winds.  The 
lively  author  of  "Life  in  Mexico"  writes,*  "  M.  de  Humboldt, 
who  examined  the  will  of  Cortes,  informs  us  that  the  conqueror 
had  left  sugar  plantations  near  Cuyoacan,  in  the  valley  of 
Mexico,  Avhere  now,  owing,  it  is  supposed,  to  the  cutting  down 
of  the  trees,  the  cold  is  too  great  for  sugar  cane  or  any  other 
tropical  production  to  thrive."  And  a  most  intelligent  gentle- 
man in  Worcester  tells  me,  that  he  attributes  the  greater  diffi- 
culty now  experienced  in  the  cultivation  of  the  more  delicate 
fruits  in  that  town,  to  the  fact,  that  the  encircling  hills,  formerly 
crowned  with  trees,  are  now,  to  a  considerable  degree,  laid  bare. 
The  laws  of  the  motion  of  the  atmosphere  are  similar  to  those 
of  water.  A  bare  hill  gives  no  protection.  The  wind  pours 
over  it  as  water  pours  over  a  dam.  But  if  the  hill  be  capped 
with  trees,  the  windy  cascade  will  be  broken  as  into  spray. 
Its  violence  will  be  sensibly  diminished.  We  are  not  aware, 
on  the  now  protected  and  irregular  surface  of  New  England, 
how  important  are  the  screens  furnished  by  the  forests.  Trav- 
ellers from  Illinois  tell  us,  that  on  the  vast  prairies  in  that  and 
some  of  the  other  western  States,  the  wind  is  almost  always 
fresh,  and  often  blows  a  gale,  before  which  men  can  hardly 

*  Volume  II.,  p.  52. 


6  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

stand.  The  new  settlers  are  glad  to  shelter  their  habitations 
under  the  lea  of  the  spurs  of  forest  which  stretch  like  promon- 
tories into  the  prairie  lands.  A  forest  near  the  coast,  in  any 
part  of  New  England,  protects  those  farther  inland  from  the 
chilling  east  winds;  and,  while  such  winds  prevail,  a  person 
passing  towards  the  sea,  experiences  a  marked  change  of  tem- 
perature, upon  crossing  the  last  wood  and  especially  the  last 
wood-covered  hill.  One  who  would  have  his  house  screened 
from  the  northerly  winds,  must  take  care  to  have  behind  it  a  hill 
crowned  with  trees,  or  at  least  to  have  a  wood  stretching  from 
the  northwest  to  the  northeast.  A  garden  surrounded  by  tall 
trees  admits  the  cultivation,  even  in  our  severe  climate,  of  plants 
almost  tropical. 

Forests  not  only  protect  from  winds ;  they  must  prevent  their 
formation.  The  air  resting  over  a  broken  surface  cannot  be 
rapidly  heated  to  a  uniformly  high  temperature,  so  as  to  rise 
upwards  in  great  masses  and  create  a  violent  wind.* 

4.  As  adding  to  the  beauty  of  a  country,  the  forests  are  of 
the  utmost  importance.  A  country  destitute  of  them  cannot 
be  in  the  highest  degree  beautiful.     If  the  green  hills  of  Berk- 

*  A  writer  in  the  6th  volume  of  the  N.  E.  Farmer,  says,  "It is  not  merely  in 
forests,  nor  as  supplying  fire  wood  and  timber  thai  trees  are  valuable.  <  Consid- 
ered agriculturally,'  says  an  English  writer,  'the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
subdividing  extensive  tracts  of  country  by  plantations  are  evidently  great,  whether 
considered  in  the  light  of  affording  immediate  shelter  to  the  lands,  or  in  that  of 
improving  the  local  climate.'  The  fact  that  the  climate  may  be  thus  improved, 
has,  in  very  many  instances,  been  sufficiently  established.  It  is  indeed  astonish- 
ing how  much  better  cattle  thrive  in  fields  even  but  moderately  sheltered,  than  they 
do  in  an  open,  exposed  country.  In  the  breeding  of  cattle,  a  sheltered  farm,  or  a 
sheltered  corner  in  a  farm,  is  a  thing  much  prized ;  and  in  instances  where  fields 
are  taken  by  the  season  for  the  purpose  of  fattening  cattle,  those  most  sheltered 
never  fail  to  bring  the  highest  rents.  .  .  .  Dr.  Deane  has  observed,  'pasture  lands 
should  be  well  fenced,  in  small  lots,  .  .  .  and  these  lots  should  be  bordered  at 
least,  with  rows  of  trees.  It  is  best  that  trees  of  some  kind  or  other  should  be 
growing  scattered  in  every  point  of  a  pasture,  so  that  cattle  may  never  have  far  to 
go,  in  a  hot  hour,  to  obtain  a  comfortable  shade." 

"  Small  lots,  thus  sheltered,  are  not  left  bare  of  snow  so  early  in  the  spring  as 
larger  ones  lying  bare  ;  since  fences  and  trees  cause  more  of  it  to  remain  on  the 
ground.  The  cold  winds  in  March  and  April  hurt  the  grass  much  when  the 
ground  is  bare ;  and  the  winds  in  winter  will  not  suffer  snow  to  lie  deep  in  land 
that  is  too  open  to  the  rake  of  winds  and  storms." — JV.  -E.  F.,  VI.,  350. 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS.  7 

shire  were  stripped  of  their  woods,  they  would  be  converted 
into  broad  reaches  of  upland,  from  which  most  of  their  beauty- 
would  have  departed.  The  striking  feature  in  that  charm- 
ing country  is  the  old  forest,  on  the  sides  of  its  hills,  here 
and  there  irregularly  broken  in  upon  by  cultivation.  The 
northern  and  southern  sides  of  Boston  are  not  essentially  unlike 
in  their  natural  features ;  yet  the  hills  of  Brookline  and  Rox- 
bury,  capped  with  hickory,  and  whose  sides  are  clothed  with 
oaks  and  pines,  give  the  impression  of  a  rich  and  happy  coun- 
try, of  which  only  pleasant  memories  are  carried  away,  while 
the  bare  hills  of  Chelsea  suggest  images  of  bleak  and  barren 
desolation.  Three  or  four  trees  upon  Apple  Island  make  it  a 
gem  among  the  islands  in  Boston  Harbor.  What  a  scene  would 
the  Bay  present,  if  all  the  islands  were  so  covered  ! 

No  element  of  beauty  is  so  completely  manageable  as  trees ; 
and  our  resources  in  that  respect  are  surprisingly  great.  Sit- 
uated in  the  middle  of  the  temperate  zone,  we  have,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, all  the  best  of  the  deciduous  trees,  the  oaks,  elms, 
beeches,  ashes,  hickories,  walnuts,  cherries,  maples,  the  chest- 
nut, linden  and  button -wood,  of  the  temperate  regions,  together 
with  the  finest  of  the  evergreens,  the  pines,  firs,  spruces,  cedars 
and  hemlock,  and  the  delicate  birches,  of  a  more  northern  cli- 
mate. Each  one  of  these  trees  has  its  own  peculiar  and  dis- 
tinctly marked  character,  recognizable  at  a  distance,  and  pro- 
ducing an  effect  which  needs  not  to  be  mistaken  for  that  of  any 
other.  Each  has  its  own  cycle  of  change,  its  own  time  of  flow- 
ering, and  of  perfecting  its  fruit,  and  of  opening,  maturing, 
changing  and  casting  its  foliage.  Each  has  its  own  shape  and 
its  own  color,  distinguishing  it  from  every  other  tree,  even  of 
the  species  most  nearly  allied.  Hence  the  endless  variety  of 
forest  scenery.  Here  are  more  than  fifty  elements  shading  off 
and  blending  into  each  other  in  imperceptible  gradations,  ac- 
cording as  you  recede  from  the  coast  to  the  interior,  as  yon  go 
north  or  south,  or  as  you  rise  from  the  plain  into  the  mountains. 
We  have  here  representatives  of  the  vegetations  of  the  warmer 
and  of  the  colder  regions ;  but  as  you  go  north,  first  the  hicko- 
ries, then  most  of  the  other  nut-bearing  trees,  then  others  grad- 


8  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ually  leave  you,  and  give  place  to  hardier  foresters.  As  you  go 
south,  the  same  gradual  change  takes  place  from  the  desertion 
of  the  pines  and  birches,  and  the  addition  of  new  oaks,  and 
other  trees.  Every  one  feels  the  difference  in  the  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  mind  by  the  forests  of  Berkshire,  and  the  woods  of 
Norfolk  or  Essex  county.  The  practised  eye  detects  the  cause 
of  the  difference  in  the  different  trees  which  constitute  the  forest, 
and  still  more  in  the  different  proportions  in  which  the  same 
trees  are  combined. 

These  numerous  trees  and  the  still  more  numerous  flowering 
shrubs  which  belong  to  our  forests,  all  capable  of  being  made  to 
flourish  freely  in  every  part  of  the  State,  give  the  planter  who  is 
studious  of  the  effects  of  landscape,  inexhaustible  resources. 
Some  of  the  trees  grow  habitually  to  the  height  of  only  thirty 
or  forty  feet;  others  rise  to  seventy  or  a  hundred.  Judiciously 
grouped  in  planting,  they  are  capable  of  giving  to  a  level  plain 
the  appearance  of  any  desired  inequality  of  surface.  The  tall 
pines,  elms  and  sycamores  at  a  distance,  will  seem  to  occupy 
a  hill,  the  hickories  and  maples,  to  clothe  its  sides,  while  the 
spreading  beeches,  broad  oaks  and  hanging  birches,  will  form 
the  gradual  descent  to  the  plain.  Among  these,  a  winding  path 
leading  under  or  near  the  largest  trees  and  behind  thickets,  may 
give  to  a  few  acres  all  the  advantages  of  variety  of  a  large 
forest. 

To  many  persons,  the  pleasantest  season  in  our  climate  is 
autumn,  and  to  a  lover  of  nature  the  rich  and  infinitely  varied 
gorgeousness  of  the  autumnal  woods  is  a  most  important  addi- 
tion to  the  enjoyment  of  that  season  in  the  country.  Each  tree 
has  its  own  color,  or  rather  its  own  class  of  colors, — tints  and 
shades  which  belong  to  it  and  to  it  alone.  Trees  to  be  planted 
about  a  residence  should  be  selected  in  reference  to  this  circum- 
stance as  well  as  to  the  time  and  variety  of  their  flowering. 
Early  autumn  becomes  gay  with  the  vivid  crimson  of  the  tupelo 
and  the  sumach.  A  little  later  come  out  the  rich  orange  and 
yellow  of  the  sugar  maple,  with  the  gold  and  scarlet  of  the  red 
flowering  maple.  The  soft  olive  tints  of  the  ash,  the  warm 
browns  of  the  hickory,  the  purples  of  the  cornus  florida,  the 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS.  9 

buffs  and  yellows  of  the  birches,  give  place  at  last  to  the  full 
scarlets,  yellows  and  browns  of  the  oaks,  many  of  whose  leaves 
remain  adhering  through  the  snows  of  winter.  These  and  forty 
other  trees,  and  twice  as  many  shrubs,  furnish  as  inexhaustible  a 
store- house  of  colors  as  they  do  of  shape  and  foliage.  It  would 
be  endless  to  speak  of  the  adjuncts  of  trees,  the  climbing  shrubs, 
the  Virginia  creeper,  so  remarkable  for  the  richness  of  its  fading 
colors,  the  Roxbury  wax-work,  for  its  berries,  the  ivy,  the  vine 
and  the  climbers  which  naturally  attach  themselves  to  our  trees, 
and  which  may  be  trained  upon  them  in  cultivation ;  the  lichens 
which  cloud  and  paint  their  trunks  with  touches  of  green  and 
yellow,  white  and  brown,  and  the  mosses  of  brilliant  green 
or  purple  velvet  which  grow  about  their  base.  All  these  are 
studies  for  the  landscape  gardener,  and  their  daily  observation 
will  add  immeasurably  to  the  pleasure  of  the  contemplative 
man  who  dwells  in  or  traverses  the  country  in  autumn  with 
the  eye  of  a  painter,  and  the  feelings  of  a  poet,  or  with  those 
of  a  worshipper  of  the  Author  of  these  beauties. 

It  is  surprising  how  small  is  the  number  of  trees  necessary 
to  produce  a  striking  effect.  Ten  or  twelve  trees,  fortunately  or 
skilfully  disposed  on  the  sides  or  brow  of  a  hill,  are  often  suffi- 
cient to  give  it  an  air  of  richness  harmonizing  perfectly  with  a 
highly  cultivated  country.  The  happy  effect  of  three  or  four 
trees  on  an  island  in  Boston  harbor  has  been  already  mentioned ; 
a  single  one  on  Pettick's  Island  gives  an  agreeable  relief  to  the 
eye.  A  single  tree  by  a  farmer's  house  protects  it,  and  gives  it 
a  desirable  air  of  seclusion  and  rest ;  as  if  it  must  be  the  resi- 
dence of  peace  and  contentment.  One  almost  covets  a  house 
so  pleasantly  sheltered.  While  an  unprotected,  solitary  house 
seems  to  shiver  in  the  north  wind,  and  we  involuntarily  wish 
for  the  inhabitants  a  more  cheerful  home.  Why  should  not  at 
least  one  tree  be  found  growing  near  the  dwelling  of  every  man, 
even  the  poorest  and  humblest? 

Nothing  can  better  illustrate  the  variety  of  our  forest  trees, 
compared  with  the  European,  than  a  criticism  of  the  learned 
Hallam  upon  a  passage  in  Spencer's  Fairy  Queen.  It  is  that 
in  the  first  book  where  a  shady  grove  is  described,  in  which  the 
knight  and  lady  take  refuge.  The  critic  objects  "  to  the  stanza 
2 


10  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

enumerating  as  many  kinds  of  trees  as  the  poet  could  call  to 
mind, — 

"The  sayling  Pine,  the  Cedar  proud  and  tall, 

The  Vine-propp  Elme,  the  Poplar  never  dry, 

The  builder  Oake,  sole  king  of  forests  all, 

The  Aspine  good  for  staves,  the  Cypress  funerale, 


with  thirteen  more  in  the  next  stanza.  Every  one  knows  that 
a  natural  forest  never  contains  such  a  variety  of  species." 
The  other  trees  mentioned  are  the  laurel,  fir,  willow,  yew, 
birch,  sallow,  myrrh,  beech,  ash,  olive,  platane,  holm,  maple ; 
in  all  twenty.  Now  the  forest  nearest  to  Boston  which  has 
been  left  undisturbed,  and  it  is  within  four  miles  of  the  city, 
in  Brookline,  contains,  in  less  than  half  a  mile's  space,  the 
white  pine,  the  red  cedar,  the  elm,  the  large-leaved  poplar, 
the  white  oak,  the  aspen-leaved  poplar,  called  aspen  by  our 
ancestors,  from  its  resemblance  to  the  tree  of  that  name  in 
England,  the  willow,  two  or  three  species,  the  poplar-leaved 
birch,  most  near  akin  to  the  European,  the  ash,  the  beech,  the 
plane,  or  button-wood,  the  red-flowering  maple, — to  correspond 
with  those  of  the  same  name, — the  hemlock,  the  tupelo,  the 
spruce,  the  pitch  pine,  the  alder,  the  shellbark,  the  hornbeam, 
the  leverwood,  to  stand  against  the  others  named ;  and  more- 
over the  red  oak,  the  black,  and  the  swamp  oak,  the  sugar 
maple,  the  yellow  birch,  the  black  birch,  the  square-nut  hick- 
ory, the  pig-nut,  the  bitter -nut,  the  chestnut,  and  the  linden, 
all  growing  as  they  were  planted  by  the  hand  of  nature.  If  it 
be  objected  that  it  is  unfair  to  enumerate  several  species  of  one 
genus,  it  may  be  answered  that  they  are  all  quite  as  unlike  each 
other  as  are  the  willow  and  sallow,  or  the  poplar  and  aspen 
of  Spencer's  catalogue.  It  is  true  that  we  do  not  often  find  in 
Massachusetts  so  great  a  variety  in  the  same  wood,  except  upon 
soil  from  the  pudding-stone  or  conglomerate  formation.  The 
various  ingredients  of  that  rock  seem  to  furnish  the  materials 
necessary  for  the  ready  growth  of  every  kind  of  tree  of  our 
climate. 

5.  In  a  country  so  much  exposed  as  ours  is,  in  consequence 
of  the  remarkable  clearness  of  the  atmosphere,  to  the  burning 
heat  of  the  sun,  the  use  of  trees  for  shade  is  not  one  of  the  least 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS.  11 

important.  This  use  is  closely  allied  to  the  last.  A  tree  which 
furnishes  a  cool  shade  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  house,  is  at  the 
same  time  and  on  that  account  its  best  ornament.  At  the  sea- 
son when  men  travel  for  pleasure,  a  plain,  low,  modest  house 
with  an  open  grass  plot  before  it,  shaded  by  an  oak  or  an  elm, 
speaks  more  to  the  feelings  and  is  more  beautiful  than  the 
showiest  house  unprotected  from  the  sun.  The  traveller  in  a 
hot  day  welcomes  every  tree  on  the  road  side.  Even  a  thin 
fringe  of  grey  birches  looks  pleasant ;  and  he  remembers  thank- 
fully the  kindness  or  good  taste  which  has  spared,  or  planted  a 
tree  with  a  head  broad  and  thick  enough  for  him  to  rest  under 
and  cool  himself. 

Trees  should  be  planted  not  only  by  dwelling-houses  and 
along  roads ;  they  should  be  in  every  pasture  and  by  watering 
places,  and  near  every  barn, — wherever  cattle,  horses  or  sheep 
are  to  be  provided  for.  All  these  animals  suffer  from  our  burn- 
ing sun ;  and,  to  say  nothing  of  their  enjoyment,  the  cost  of 
shade  trees  will  be  many  times  paid  back  in  the  saving  of  the 
milk,  fat,  fleece  and  strength,  which  will  be  the  consequence  of 
their  being  protected  from  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

6.  The  importance  of  the  forests  as  furnishing  materials  for 
ship-building,  house-building,  and  numerous  other  arts,  is  so 
obvious  that  it  must  occur  to  every  one ;  and  yet  there  is  dan- 
ger that,  in  many  places,  from  false  views  of  immediate  econ- 
omy, no  provision  will  be  made  for  the  wants  of  future 
generations.  It  is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  pecuniary  value  of 
the  wood  used  in  house-building.  A  vast  deal  of  this  is  con- 
tinually going  on ;  the  aspect  of  the  State  is  annually  every 
where  improving  by  the  erection  of  larger,  better  finished  and 
more  commodious  houses,  barns  and  outhouses.  And  almost 
all  the  materials  have  been,  hitherto,  except  for  the  sea- 
board towns,  furnished  by  our  own  woods.  But  no  returns  of 
these  improvements  are  published.  The  thousands  of  tons  of 
timber,  boards,  clap-boards  and  shingles,  are  not  put  on  record. 
It  is  manifest,  however,  that  the  difference  against  us  would 
be  great,  if  we  had  to  look  elsewhere  for  our  materials.  It  is 
indeed  very  desirable  that  better  taste  and  more  just  views  of 
economy,  should  introduce  the  fashion  of  building  dwelling- 


12  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

houses,  barns,  and  other  large  structures,  of  stone.  They  would 
then  be  built,  as  the  forests  must  be  planted,  for  future  genera- 
tions. The  best  building  stones  are  abundant  in  almost  every 
part  of  the  State,  so  much  so,  that  in  many  places  they  are 
heaped  together  in  walls  much  higher  and  wider  than  are  ne- 
cessary for  the  protection  of  the  fields.  If  the  buildings  were 
formed  of  stone,  they  would  be  a  permanent  addition  to  the 
value  of  the  property,  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  present  tran- 
sient structures  are  an  inheritance  to  be  perpetually  repaired 
and  renewed. 

As  to  ship-building,  we  have  some  data.  The  returns*  from 
the  various  towns  in  the  State,  made  in  1837,  show  that  the 
average  annual  value  of  ships  built  in  five  years  before  that 
time,  was  1,370,649  dollars.  A  great  portion  of  the  materials 
was,  and  a  greater  might  have  been  furnished  by  our  forests, 
if  the  oaks  and  pines  of  our  hills  had  not  been  most  improv- 
idently  wasted  by  our  ancestors. 

The  valuable  document  to  which  I  have  referred,  shows  that 
in  1837  the  annual  value  of  casks  and  hoops  made  in  the  State, 

was, a    202,832  dollars; 

of  chairs  and  cabinet  ware,  .         .         .         6  1,262,121 
"  lumber,  shingles  and  staves,      .         .         c     167,778 
"  window  blinds,  sashes  and  doors,      .         (/       74,166        " 
<:  wooden  ware,  including  boxes,  rakes, 

shoe-pegs,  yokes,  and  helves,         .         e     174,692       " 


it 


making  an  aggregate  of         .         .         .  1,881,589  dollars; 

the  materials  for  almost  the  whole  of  which  must  have  come 
from  our  forests.     In  the  manufacture  of  these,  a    194 

b  2011 
c  121 
d  93 
e    313 


2712  persons 

*  See  Statistical  Tables  exhibiting  the  condition  and  products  of  certain  branches 
of  Industry  in  Massachusetts,  for  the  year  ending  April  1,  1837,  prepared  from  the 
Returns  of  the  Assessors,  by  John  P.  Bigelow,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS.  13 

were  directly  employed.     Probably  five  times  that  number  de- 
pended on  it  for  support. 

If  to  this  we  add  a  fair  proportion  for  the  materials  used  in  the 
making  of  boats,  spars,  pumps  and  blocks,  /       32,391  dollars ; 
"        "  scythe-snaths,  scythe-rifles,  &c.   g      44,736       " 
"       "  brushes,  brooms  and  baskets,    .   h     289,512       " 
"        "  carriages,  wagons,  sleighs,  har- 
ness, &c i     679,442       " 

"  machinery,       .         .         .         .  j  1,235,390       " 

"       "  ploughs, k      54,561       " 

"        "  saddles,  trunks,  and  whips,      .    I      351,575       " 
11       "  shovels,  spades,  forks  and  hoes,    m    264,709       " 


making,  in  all,  the  sum  of  2,952,317  dollars; 

giving  employment  to  /.  53,  g.  88,  h.  350,  i.  945,/  1399,  k.  73, 
l.  758,  m.  284, — 3950  persons,  and  support,  to  doubtless,  five 
times  as  many.  If  the  wooden  materials  be  estimated  at  1-1 0th 
part  of  the  final  value,  we  have  .         .         295,231  dollars 

to  add  to  the 1,881,589      " 

found  above ;  

making,  in  all,  the  sum  of  .  .  .  .  2,177,820  dollars 
besides  the  value  of  the  proportion  of  wooden  materials  enter- 
ing into  the  building  of  ships. 

The  effects  of  the  wasteful  destruction  of  the  forest  trees  are 
already  visible.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  materials  for 
ship-building,  house-building  and  manufactures,  in  the  towns 
along  the  coast,  are  now  brought  from  other  States.  The  man- 
ufacture of  wooden  bowls  and  other  vessels  made  of  a  single 
piece,  has  in  some  towns  in  Berkshire  diminished,  and  in  others 
been  given  up,  from  the  failure  of  ashes,  beeches,  lindens,  and 
other  suitable  trees  large  enough  for  the  purpose ;  and  in  the 
western  towns  of  Worcester  county,  materials  less  valuable 
than  heretofore  are  necessarily  in  some  cases  used  in  the  im- 
portant manufacture  of  chairs.  The  same  thing  is  taking  place, 
almost  imperceptibly,  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  Every  mechanic, 
who  works  in  wood,  looks  every  year  more  and  more  out  of  the 
State  for  his  materials.  Every  year  we  are  more  dependent  on 
Maine  and  New  York,  and  some  of  the  southern  States,  not 


14  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

only  for  ship-timber  and  lumber  for  house -building,  but  for 
materials  for  tanning  and  dyeing,  for  carriage-making,  basket- 
making,  plane-making,  last-making,  and  for  furniture  and  the 
implements  of  husbandry. 

Even  these  foreign  resources  are  fast  failing  us.  Within  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  the  forests  of  Maine  and  New  York, 
from  which  we  draw  our  largest  supplies,  have  disappeared 
more  rapidly  than  those  of  Massachusetts  ever  did.  In  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  more,  at  this  rate,  the  supply  in  many  places 
will  be  entirely  cut  off.  In  many  parts  of  both  those  States, 
which  recently  furnished  the  most  abundant  supplies,  agricul- 
ture is  already  taking  the  place  of  the  lumber  trade ;  and  the 
disforested  region,  now  changing  into  beautiful  farms,  will  never 
be  allowed  to  resume  its  original  wildness ;  or,  if  the  attempt 
should  be  made,  to  restore  the  forests,  the  experiment  would 
require  a  hundred  years. 

7.  Another  special  use  of  the  forests  of  the  State,  is  in  the 
production  of  maple  sugar.  Great  quantities  are  already  made, 
and  the  manufacture  might  be  much  more  generally  introduced. 
This  subject  has  already  received  considerable  attention.  It 
deserves  much  more.  In  many  favorable  situations,  the  culti- 
vation of  the  maple  tree  would  cost  only  forethought.  The 
labor  of  planting  the  trees  might  be  performed  late  in  the  year, 
when  the  fall  work  was  over,  and  the  making  of  sugar  be  at- 
tended to  early,  before  the  spring  work  had  begun. 

Of  minor  importance,  but  of  much  more  than  is  usually  given 
to  it,  is  the  production  of  nuts  of  various  kinds,  the  fruit  of 
forest  trees.  The  produce  of  the  shellbark,  chestnut,  beech, 
hazel,  and  acorn,  already  valuable,  might  be  increased  in  value 
almost  indefinitely,  by  selecting  the  best  native  varieties,  and 
improving  them  by  processes  similar  to  those  to  which  we  owe 
the  fine  varieties  of  apple  and  pear,  and  the  cultivated  varieties 
of  European  nuts,  and  by  introducing  similar  trees,  such  as  the 
pecan  nut,  the  English  walnut,  and  the  European  hazel. 

8.  The  most  extensive  and  important  use  of  the  forest  is  in 
the  fuel  it  furnishes.  Most  of  the  fires,  through  the  State,  are 
still  chiefly  fed  from  this  source.  The  population,  by  the  last 
census,  was  something  over  737,000.     Now,  it  has  been  found 


USES  OF  THE  FORESTS.  15 

that  in  England,  the  country  most  like  onrs,  a  family  consists, 
on  an  average,  of  4  7-1  Oth  persons.  From  the  greater  facility  of 
procuring  subsistence,  marriage  takes  place  earlier  among  us  and 
families  are  larger.  If  we  suppose  them  to  average  6  persons, 
there  are  about  123,000  families  in  this  State.  If  we  suppose 
the  average  to  be  7,  there  are  more  than  105,000  families.  The 
prices  of  fuel  vary  very  considerably  in  different  parts  of  the 
State.  The  estimates  of  value  that  have  been  sent  me,  give 
not  far  from  four  dollars  as  the  average  price  per  cord  of  hard 
wood.*  The  quantities  required  for  a  family's  fuel  for  a  year, 
are  very  variously  estimated.  The  medium  is  between  13  and 
14  cords.  If  we  suppose  the  price  to  be  only  $3.50,  and  the 
quantity  required  for  a  single  family  to  be  only  12  cords  a  year, 
the  average  cost  of  fuel  for  each  family  will  be  found  to  be  $42. 
If  there  are  123,000  families  in  the  State,  the  annual  expense 
will  be  $5,166,000.  If  we  suppose  only  105,000  families,  the 
expense  cannot  be  less  $4,410,000.  It  would  not  be  easy  to 
ascertain  the  quantity  of  fuel  used  in  the  schools,  work-shops, 
and  furnaces  in  the  State. 

The  quantities  consumed  in  the  locomotives  on  the  rail- 
roads, may  be  more  nearly  ascertained.  The  annual  average 
quantity  consumed  on  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Rail-road, 
for  the  last  two  years,  is  nearly  8000  cords,  at  a  cost  of  some- 
what more  than  $31,000  per  annum,  or  about  $3.92  per  cord. 
The  average  quantity  consumed  on  the  Western  Rail-road, 
between  Worcester  and  Albany,  is  18.000  cords,  at  a  lower 
cost  per  cord.  The  quantity  used  on  the  Boston  and  Providence 
Rail-road  in  1843,  was  something  over  4000  cords,  at  an  average 

*  I  have  letters  from  intelligent  gentlemen  in  all  the  counties,  giving  the  prices 
of  hard  wood  in  their  several  towns,  and  the  average  number  of  cords  necessary 
for  a  single  family.  Stating  these  prices  below  the  estimates  given  me,  I  set  the 
price  in  Berkshire  at  $2  ;  in  Franklin,  Hampden  and  Hampshire,  at  $3  ;  in  Barn- 
stable, Bristol,  Essex,  Middlesex,  Norfolk,  Plymouth  and  Worcester,  at  $4  ;  in 
Nantucket  and  Dukes,  at  $5  ;  and  in  Suffolk  at  $6.  Taking  the  inhabitants  of 
the  several  counties,  according  to  the  census  of  1840, 1  obtain  the  average  price  of 
$4  03  per  cord,  for  the  whole  consumption  by  families.  The  quantities  necessary 
for  a  family's  use,  are  stated  by  my  correspondents  at  all  numbers,  from  4  to  30 
cords  or  more.  The  numbers  given  me  by  the  fifteen  persons  most  to  be  relied 
on,  are  4,  6,  6,  8,  9,  10,  10,  11,  15,  16,  17, 17,  20,  20,  30.  The  average  of  these  is 
13  and  nearly  3  tenths. 


16  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

cost  of  nearly  $4.50,  making  $18,000.  The  average  annual 
consumption  on  the  Boston  and  Lowell  road,  is  4000  cords, 
at  an  average  first  cost  of  about  $3.50  per  cord, — $14,000. 
The  average  consumption  on  the  Boston  and  Maine  Rail-road, 
is  about  8000  cords,  at  an  expense  of  about  $17,000,  about 
$2.13  per  cord.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  road  lies  in  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine,  and  the  wood  is  procured  almost  entirely 
from  those  States.  On  the  Eastern  Rail-road,  as  far  as  New- 
buryport,  there  are  used,  besides  coal,  2400  cords  of  wood,  at 
the  rate  of  $4.50  per  cord,  an  expense  of  $10,200.  Now,  tak- 
ing one-half  the  Boston  and  Maine  Rail-road  to  run  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, we  have,  on  the  six  most  travelled  roads,  an  an- 
nual consumption  of  40,400  cords  of  wood,  at  an  expense  of 
$135,700  for  338  miles,  or  about  120  cords  per  mile.  Of  the 
other  rail-roads,  the  Taunton  is  11  miles  long,  the  New  Bed- 
ford 21,  the  Fall  River  11,  the  Nashua  14,  the  Northampton  23, 
the  Berkshire  21,  the  Fitchburg  42,  the  Plymouth,  soon  to  be 
completed,  38.  The  Norwich  runs,  in  this  State,  about  20 ;  the 
Hartford,  in  this  State,  about  8 ;  the  Hudson  and  Berkshire,  in 
this  State,  about  13; — in  all,  222  miles.  Suppose  the  average 
consumption  on  these  roads  to  be  one-half  what  it  is  on  the 
others,  or  60  cords  a  mile,  and  the  price  of  wood  $3.25, — 
we  have  13,320  cords  of  wood  consumed,  at  an  expense  of 
$43,290.  These,  added  to  the  sums  above,  give  an  annual 
consumption  of  53,710  cords  of  wood,  at  an  expense  of  $178,990 
for  560  miles  of  rail-road,  an  estimate  which  those  acquainted 
with  the  subject  will  regard  as  within  moderate  bounds.  The 
wood  consumed  in  locomotives  is  almost  entirely  pine  of  some 
kind.  Very  little  hard  wood  is  used  for  the  purpose.  Now, 
this  consumption  is  not  likely  to  diminish,  and  offers  a  perma- 
nent market  for  all  the  pine  wood  which  can  be  grown. 

CONTINUATION  AND  IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  FORESTS. 

From  all  these  considerations,  it  is  apparent  how  valuable 
are  the  forests,  and  how  important  it  is  that  efforts  should  be 
made,  by  the  land  owners  of  this  generation,  to  check  the  waste 
which  is  going  on,  and  to  provide  supplies  for  the  wants  of  the 
generations  to  come.    Planting  trees  on  a  large  scale  has  been  sel- 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  FORESTS.  17 

dom  attempted  in  New  England.  The  inhabitants  of  each  town 
have  been  content  with  the  kinds  of  wood  growing  in  their 
neighborhood ;  or,  where  particular  kinds,  not  to  be  found  there, 
were  necessary  for  the  manufactures  already  established,  they 
have  been  satisfied  to  import  them  from  a  distance.  In  very 
few  instances,  have  systematic  efforts  been  made  to  provide  a 
future  supply  of  the  best  materials,  in  their  own  immediate 
vicinity.  This  is  to  be  done.  The  individuals  interested  in  a 
particular  branch  of  manufacture  in  wood  may  say,  that  when 
materials  fail  them  in  one  place,  they  will  go  to  another.  The 
owners  of  the  land  ought  not  to  rest  satisfied  with  this  view  of 
the  case.  True  patriotism  and  enlightened  views  of  economy, 
ought  to  prevent  any  one  from  consenting  to  it. 

Massachusetts  must  necessarily  continue  to  be  a  manufactur- 
ing State ;  and  the  manufactures  in  wood  are  among  the  most 
important  branches  of  industry,  and  must  be  not  only  continued 
but  enlarged.  They  cannot  even  continue,  unless  pains  are 
taken  to  plant  forests  which  shall  furnish  the  necessary  mate- 
rials. A  manufacturer  of  wooden  bowls  and  trays  in  Boston, 
who  had  procured  his  materials  from  Maine,  found  that  it  would 
be  better  economy  to  live  near  the  woods  which  produced  them, 
and  send  the  finished  articles  thence  to  market.  When  the  large 
ashes  and  beeches  of  Becket  are  cut  down,  the  maker  of  wood- 
en-ware must  remove  to  an  older  forest.  What  takes  place  in 
individual  cases,  indicates  the  necessary  but  silent  movement 
of  great  masses.  One  by  one,  the  workers  in  wood  will  have 
left  the  State,  when  the  old  forests  shall  have  been  all  cut  down. 
A  prudent  foresight  may  prevent  this,  by  planting,  in  season, 
the  kinds  of  trees  necessary  for  these  various  demands, — for  fuel 
and  for  all  the  branches  of  manufacture.  For  this  end,  we  have 
extraordinary  resources.  Among  the  native  trees,  we  have  great 
choice,  from  the  number,  variety,  and  excellence  of  the  species. 
In  the  narrow  breadth  of  Massachusetts,  the  species  of  native 
timber  trees  are  more  numerous  than  are  found  in  any  kingdom 
of  Europe.  We  have  nine  large  oak  trees,  four  hickories,  five 
birches,  three  large  maples,  three  ashes,  three  pines,  two  wal- 
nuts, two  elms,  two  spruces,  two  cedars,  besides  the  beech,  the 
chestnut,  the  hornbeam,  the  lever  wood,  the  tupelo,  the  hoop 
3 


18  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ash  or  nettle  tree,  the  tulip  tree,  the  plane,  the  bass,  the  locust, 
the  hemlock,  the  fir,  the  hacmatack,  the  cherry,  the  holly,  several 
•  poplars,  many  willows,  and  a  large  number  of  smaller  trees. 
Besides  these,  it  is  found  that  all  the  valuable  trees  of  middle 
and  northern  Europe  flourish  here  as  if  they  were  native.  It 
thus  appears  that  our  soil  and  climate  are  perfectly  well  adapted 
to  all  kinds  of  wood  which  are  found  in  temperate  countries. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  understand  the  character  and  habits  of 
each,  and  to  choose  suitable  soil  and  situation. 

Of  many  of  our  trees  the  properties  are  but  partially  known. 
Some  of  them  grow  only  in  particular  districts.  Others  are  so 
unlike  those  found  in  the  mother  country,  that  they  hardly  have 
a  name.*  Of  many,  the  habits  and  rate  of  increase,  and  the 
soil,  exposure,  and  situation  most  favorable  to  their  growth, 
have  not  yet  been  studied.  Of  the  nine  large  oaks  found  grow- 
ing in  Massachusetts,  not  more  than  five  are  often  found  in  the 
same  forest,  and  of  these,  two,  and  often  three,  are  not  well  dis- 
tinguished by  the  land  owner,  though  their  value  for  different 
purposes  is  very  different.  The  black  oak  and  the  scarlet  are 
commonly  confounded,  from  their  close  resemblance,  although, 
to  the  ship-builder  or  the  wagon-maker,  the  former  is  far  the 
more  valuable  ;  and  both  these  trees  are  often  confounded  with 
the  red  oak,  which,  for  timber  or  fuel,  is  comparatively  worth- 
less. The  rock  chestnut  oak,  of  great  value  for  fuel  and  for 
timber,  and  better  adapted,  than  any  other  oak,  for  growth  on 
rocky  hills,  is  well  known  in  only  a  few  towns  in  the  State. 
The  mossy  cup  oak,  so  valuable  for  trenails  and  small  frame 
work,  is  found  only  in  a  small  part  of  Berkshire.  It  would 
grow  readily  in  any  section.  The  rough  oak,  or  post  oak,  is 
now  known  only  on  Martha's  Vineyard.  Similar  observations 
might  be  made  on  half  the  trees  in  the  State.  Those  most  in- 
terested in  the  subject,  the  owners  of  the  land  which  should  be 
devoted  to  trees,  and  the  mechanics  who  work  on  the  wood,  are 
seldom  acquainted  with  the  qualities  of  any  except  the  trees  of 
their  own  immediate  vicinity. 

*  There  is  no  one  uniform  name  for  the  Celtis,  the  Carpinus,  the  Ostrya,  or 
the  Nyssa. 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  FORESTS.  19 

Nature  points  out,  in  various  ways,  and  the  observation  of 
practical  men  has  almost  universally  confirmed,  the  conclusion 
to  which  the  philosophical  botanist  has  come  from  theoretical 
considerations,  that  a  rotation  of  crops  is  as  important  in  the 
forests  as  it  is  in  cultivated  fields.  A  pine  forest  is  often,  with- 
out the  agency  of  man,  succeeded  by  an  oak  forest,  where  there 
were  a  few  oaks  previously  scattered  through  the  wood,  to 
furnish  seed.  An  oak  forest  is  succeeded  by  one  of  pine,  under 
the  same  conditions.  But  it  frequently  happens  that  there  are 
not  enough  trees  of  the  opposite  family  to  seed  the  ground :  in 
which  case  a  forest  will  be  succeeded  by  another  of  the  same 
kind,  which,  though  it  will  grow,  will  probably  not  flourish 
with  the  same  luxuriance  as  would  one  of  another  family. 

It  will  not  be  considered  foreign  to  our  purpose  to  enumerate 
some  of  the  more  important  of  the  objects  which  should  be  kept 
in  view,  in  the  cultivation  and  extension  of  our  forests,  and  the 
native  and  foreign  trees  best  suited  for  those  purposes. 

The  first  want,  as  has  been  shown,  is  fuel.  The  trees  best 
suited  to  the  purpose  are  the  hickories,  the  oaks,  the  beech,  the 
birches,  the  maples,  and  the  pines,  particularly  the  pitch  pine, 
and  the  chestnut  and  hemlock  for  close  furnaces.  If  .fuel  is  to 
be  used  in  the  form  of  charcoal,  the  hard  woods  only  are  of 
great  value,  particularly  chestnut,  the  birches,  alders,  oaks  and 
maples.  As  materials  for  house-building,  the  pines,  the  spruce 
and  the  hemlock  are  generally  employed.  White  oak  was 
formerly  used  for  frames,  and  in  many  houses  now  standing  for 
more  than  a  century,  it  has  not  begun  to  decay.  Chestnut 
resists  decay,  and  is  more  and  more  in  use.  Floors  are  some- 
times made  of  beech,  of  birch,  and  of  ash.  The  best  materials, 
probably,  are  oak,  white  pine,  chestnut,  and  spruce. 

For  ship-building,  oak  is  considered  absolutely  necessary,  as 
being  preferable  to  any  other  wood.  The  best  kinds  are  white 
oak,  and  black,  or  yellow  bark  oak.  Much  southern  oak  is 
now  used.  The  English  oaks,  which,  in  Great  Britain,  are  pre- 
ferred, may  be  cultivated  here  as  successfully  as  our  own  oaks. 
In  the  construction  of  most  of  the  ships  of  Europe,  great  quan- 
tities of  larch  are  used.  This  tree  might  be  profitably  planted 
on  thousands  of  acres  which  are  now  unproductive.    Small  ves- 


20  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

sels,  remarkably  light  and  durable,  have  been  wholly  made  of 
pitch  pine.  This  tree  grows  well  on  sands  so  barren  as  to  fur- 
nish nourishment  for  no  other  tree.  Pitch  pine  is  also  used  in 
preference  to  other  timber  for  the  upper  works  of  large  vessels, 
and  for  top-masts.  White  pine  is  also  used;  especially  for 
decks,  as  it  retains  the  oakum  in  its  seams;  and  for  knees, 
hacmatack  and  spruce;  and  rock  maple  for  keels.  The  du- 
rability of  all  kinds  of  wood  under  salt  water,  is  considered 
nearly  or  quite  equal.  Spruce  and  pine  are  also  used  for  the 
upper  spars.     For  boats,  cedar  and  oak  are  necessary. 

For  fencing  materials,  chestnut  and  cedar  are  found  most  du- 
rable. The  former  is  remarkable  for  its  rapid  growth.  White 
cedar  grows  luxuriantly  in  wet  swamps  where  nothing  else 
will  flourish.  The  various  native  and  foreign  thorns,  the  hem- 
lock, red  cedar,  and  numerous  small  trees,  furnish  fit  materials 
for  hedges,  which,  in  many  parts  of  the  State,  must  ultimately 
take  the  place  of  other  fences. 

Furniture,  of  the  most  ornamental  kinds,  is  now  made  of  our 
beautiful  maples,  birches,  cherries,  and  beech.  Tables  of  ex- 
treme beauty  are  sometimes  made  of  the  root  of  oak,  or  maple, 
or  birch.  These  four  trees,  with  the  oaks  and  pines,  must  con- 
tinue to  be  indispensably  necessary  for  the  manufacture  of 
chairs,  tables,  bedsteads,  and  other  kinds  of  furniture. 

For  implements  of  husbandry,  the  ashes  and  hickories,  the 
lever  wood,  the  hornbeam  and  the  oaks,  must  always  be  want- 
ed. The  carriage-maker  and  wagon-builder  will  want  ash  for 
springs  and  frames,  oak  for  spokes  and  fellies,  elm  for  hubs 
and  white  wood  or  bass  for  pannels.  The  basket-maker  will 
want  young  white  oaks,  ash  and  willow;  the  plane-maker,  beech; 
the  last-maker,  maple ;  the  pump-maker,  oak  and  pitch  pine ; 
the  bucket-maker,  white  and  red  cedar. 

The  tanner  will  continue  to  want  the  bark  of  the  black, 
the  white,  and  the  chestnut  oak,  the  hemlock  and  the  birch,  in 
regard  to  materials  from  all  which  there  has  hitherto  been  great 
wastefulness.  And  the  dyer  will  want  quercitron,  sumach,  bar- 
berry root,  in  addition  to  foreign  stuffs,  for  some  of  which  he 
might  substitute  the  bark  of  alder,  birch,  and  some  other  native 
trees. 


IMPROVABLE  LANDS.  21 


IMPROVABLE  LANDS. 


For  all  the  above  purposes,  the  forests  are  of  vast  immediate 
and  prospective  importance.  A  knowledge  of  the  best  and  most 
economical  means  of  managing  and  enlarging  them,  is  no  less 
important. 

According  to  the  latest  returns,  the  woodlands  of  Massachu- 
setts cover  729,792  acres.  There  are,  besides,  955,000  acres  of 
unimproved  lands,  and  360,000  reported  as  unimprovable.  In 
all,  there  are  2,044,792  acres  not  occupied  by  buildings  or  cul- 
tivation, out  of  the  4,491,812  acres  which  are  estimated  to  con- 
stitute the  whole  territory.  Probably  the  whole  of  the  unim- 
proved and  those  called  unimprovable  lands,  might  be  turned 
into  forest ;  as  it  is  very  questionable  whether  any  land,  except 
the  ocean  beach,  should  be  considered  unimprovable.  The 
least  promising  kinds  of  surface  are,  that  covered  with  loose, 
drifting  sand,  that  of  bare,  rocky  hills,  and  that  of  marshes 
covered  with  sedge. 

The  most  barren  sands  along  the  sea-coast  of  France  have 
been  successfully  sown  with  pines.  Of  the  details  of  the  pro- 
cess, an  account  will  be  given  in  the  chapter  on  trees  of  that 
family.  No  part  of  the  sandy  territory  of  Massachusetts,  is  so 
hopeless  as  the  region  which  has  thus  been  actually  converted 
into  forest.  Our  climate  is  quite  as  favorable  as  that  of  France 
to  the  growth  of  evergreens.  We  have,  among  our  native  trees 
of  that  family,  a  much  greater  variety,  and  we  may  avail  our- 
selves, if  necessary,  of  the  very  kind  of  pine  so  successfully 
experimented  upon  in  that  country. 

Many  acres  now  under  cultivation,  and  poorly  repaying  the 
labor  spent  on  them,  might  be  advantageously  sown  or  planted 
with  pines. 

The  most  impracticable  of  our  rocky  hills  were  originally 
covered  with  trees.  Sufficient  portions  of  them  remain  in  that 
state,  to  show  that  all  might,  with  a  little  pains,  be  redeemed  to 
a  productive  use.  There  are  several  kinds  of  trees  which  re- 
quire very  little  soil ;  some  of  them  need  little  more  than  a  foot- 
hold in  the  earth.     Several  oaks,  birches  and  pines,  are  often 


22  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

found  growing  among  rocks  where  no  soil  can  be  seen.  The 
rock  chestnut  oak,  the  black  birch,  the  red  cedar,  and  the 
Hacmatack,  rejoice  in  such  situations.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
sands,  the  experiment  has  been  made,  on  a  large  scale,  of  cov- 
ering bare,  bleak  hills,  with  trees.  Of  the  Duke  of  Athol's 
successful  experiments  in  Scotland,  on  thousands  of  acres  of 
worthless,  rocky  hills,  an  account  will  hereafter  be  given,  as 
also  of  the  value  of  the  forests  thus  created. 

Of  sedgy  marsh  and  swamp,  too  wet  and  cold  to  be  cultivated 
without  extensive  and  costly  draining,  many  acres  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  State  have  been  sown  by  a  natural  process  with 
the  seeds  of  the  white  cedar.  The  seeds,  when  shed,  float  upon 
the  water,  and  are  carried  by  spring  tides  and  freshets,  and  left 
upon  the  surface  of  the  ground.  In  the  summer,  they  spring  up 
in  countless  multitudes.  They  may  now  be  seen  in  different 
states  of  forwardness,  some  of  them  forming  impenetrable  thick- 
ets. What  has  been  done,  in  these  instances,  by  nature,  indi- 
cates the  process  by  which  similar  grounds  may  be  reduced  or 
restored  to  the  condition  of  forest. 

By  means  of  the  trees  above  mentioned,  and  others,  almost 
every  acre  of  the  surface  might  be  made  productive.  Even  the 
rocky  crown  of  the  sea-beaches  might  be  covered  with  beach 
plums. 

Much  is  to  be  done  for  the  improvement  of  the  woodlands 
now  existing.  In  some  cases,  they  are  managed  with  great 
care.  The  best  means  of  thinning,  pruning,  and  felling,  are 
studied  and  practised.  But,  in  many  cases,  indeed  in  most 
instances,  they  are  left  in  utter  neglect.  The  consequences  are 
often  very  visible.  In  the  cedar  swamps  just  spoken  of,  the 
seed-sowing  has  been  so  profuse,  that  plants  spring  up  thick 
enough  to  almost  cover  the  ground.  Ten  or  twelve  may  some- 
times be  seen  on  a  square  foot.  These  grow  up  well  together 
for  a  year  or  two.  Afterwards,  they  seem  to  be  struggling  for 
existence.  The  growth  of  all  is  retarded — almost  stopped.  In 
a  few  years,  the  strongest  overtop  the  others,  which  gradually 
die.  Still  the  number  left  living  is  far  too  great  for  the  ground, 
and  few  of  them  become  fine  and  vigorous  trees.  All  the  side 
branches  die  for  want  of  light  and  air,  and  the  top-most  shoot, 


THINNING  AND  PRUNING.  23 

never  sufficient  to  form  a  shapely  tree,  is  left  alone.  The  same 
thing  takes  place  in  beech  groves.  Ten  or  twenty  times  as 
many  plants  spring  up  as  can  be  sustained.  They  go  on 
together  vegetating,  but  hardly  growing.  I  know  several  in- 
stances of  beech  woods,  which  have  made  no  perceptible  pro- 
gress for  twenty  years.  These  are  the  most  striking  cases ; 
but  forests  of  other  trees  are  almost  constantly,  if  left  to  them- 
selves, affected  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  remedy  is  obvious.  Every  year,  from  the  first,  they 
need  to  be  thinned.  For  the  first  few  years,  the  plants  removed 
are  of  no  value  except  for  transplantation  or  fuel.  Afterwards, 
they  are  of  use,  in  innumerable  ways ;  the  young  cedars,  larches, 
and  chestnuts,  for  stakes  and  poles ;  hickories  for  walking-sticks ; 
oaks  and  ashes  for  basket-work ;  lever- wood  and  hoop-ash  for 
whip-stocks  and  levers ;  all  of  the  five  latter  for  hoops.  The 
products  of  the  thinning  will  thus  obviously  far  more  than  re- 
pay the  labor,  even  if  this  were  not  necessary  for  the  welfare  of 
the  remaining  trees. 

THINNING  AND  PRUNING. 

The  principle  on  which  pruning  and  thinning  should  be  con- 
ducted, is  a  very  plain  and  intelligible  one.  It  is,  that  every 
tree  and  every  branch  should  be  allowed  to  have  an  ample  sup- 
ply of  air  and  light.  When,  therefore,  two  trees  are  so  near, 
that  their  branches  extensively  intermingle,  one  should  be  re- 
moved; and,  generally,  it  should  be  that  one  which  is  much 
taller  or  shorter  than  the  neighboring  trees. 

In  pruning,  that  branch  should  be  shortened  which  encroaches 
on  other  branches  of  its  own  or  another  tree.  It  should  not  be 
cut  off  close  to  the  stem,  as,  in  that  case,  the  wound  will  be  long 
in  healing,  and  the  root*  which  supplied  the  branch,  being  left 
useless,  will  wholly  or  partly  perish,  and,  by  its  decay,  will 

*  "  It  is  almost  universally  found,  that  a  large  branch  corresponds  to  a  large  root, 
and  the  reverse  ;  and  this  is  true,  whether  the  root,  placed  in  favorable  circum- 
stances, determines  the  growth  of  the  branch  above  it,  or  the  branch,  propitiously- 
situated,  causes  the  growth  of  its  corresponding  root." — De  Candolle,  Organography 
Vegetale,  Tom.  I.,  p.  162. 


24  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

infect  and  weaken  the  whole  tree.  It  should  rather  be  taken 
off  at  the  distance  of  a  foot  or  more  from  the  stem,  just  above  a 
vigorous  shoot,  which  shall  be  left  to  grow  towards  a  space  in 
which  it  will  find  a  plentiful  supply  of  air  and  light.  The 
shoot  thus  left  will  sustain  the  life  of  the  shortened  branch,  and 
will  continue  in  action  the  root  by  which  it  had  been  nour- 
ished.* 

The  mode  of  thinning  and  pruning,  will  be  governed  in  some 
measure  by  the  end  in  view.  If  the  object  is  to  produce  a  full 
grown  tree,  in  its  true  character,  developing  itself  according  to 
its  natural  tendencies,  all  or  most  of  the  branches  will  be  left, 
and  care  be  taken  to  give  them  space ;  and,  as  every  branch 
swells  the  trunk,  a  similar  course  will  be  pursued,  where  it  is 
an  object  to  get  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  wood.  In  both 
cases,  those  stems  and  branches  only  will  be  removed,  which 
interfere  with  the  rest.  A  crowded  growth  will  be  allowed, 
and  the  lower  lateral  branches  will  be  removed,  where  it  is 
desirable  to  get  a  lofty  trunk  and  head. 

In  many  hard  wood  trees,  shoots  spring  vigorously  from  the 
stool  or  stump,  after  the  trunk  is  cut  down ;  and  this  mode  of 
reproduction  is  chiefly  relied  upon  in  most  of  the  woodlands  in 
the  State.  It  becomes,  then,  of  great  importance  to  ascertain 
what  are  the  best  modes  of  felling,  whether  by  thinning  out  the 
forest  or  cutting  it  entirely  down ;  in  what  period  a  wood,  so  cut 
down,  will  renew  itself,  so  as  to  be  profitably  cut  again;  at 
what  age  of  the  tree  the  stump  will  shoot  most  vigorously; 
at  what  age,  if  any,  trees  cease  to  shoot  from  the  stool ;  what 
trees  will  not  thus  shoot;  what  season  of  the  year  is  found 
best  for  felling  a  forest,  when  the  object  is  to  have  it  renew 
itself  speedily;  and  what  season,  when  the  object  is  to  de- 
stroy the  forest.  In  1838,  I  addressed  circulars  to  gentlemen 
interested  in  the  forests,  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  asking  these 
questions  and  others.  In  answer,  I  received  many  communi- 
cations, from  which  I  now  proceed  to  extract  some  of  the  valu- 

*  See  a  "  Treatise  on  the  Management  and  Cultivation  of  Forest  Trees.  By- 
John  Smith,  Gardener  and  Forester  to  the  Earl  of  Bute."  The  chapters  on  thin- 
ning and  pruning  are  interesting,  as  giving  illustrations,  by  a  practical  man,  of 
scientific  principles  which  he  had  learnt  only  from  observation. 


THINNING  AND  PRUNING.  25 

able  conclusions  of  the  observation  of  intelligent,  practical  men. 
Most  of  these  conclusions  are  confirmed  by  the  concurring  tes- 
timony of  great  numbers  of  persons. 

The  ninth  question  in  my  circular,  was,  "In  felling  for  tim- 
ber, or  for  fuel,  is  it  the  practice  to  thin  out  the  forest,  or  to  cut 
it  entirely  down,  and  leave  it  to  spring  up  from  the  stumps  1 
Which  is  considered  preferable  ?  " 

From  the  answers  returned,  I  find  that,  in  felling  for  timber, 
the  practice  is  to  select  suitable  trees,  from  any  part  of  the  for- 
est.    No  instances  have  come  to  my  knowledge  of  extensive 
woods,  cultivated  with  express  reference  to  the  production  of 
timber.    In  felling  for  fuel,  the  practice  has  been  to  select  the  old 
and  mature  trees,  especially  such  as  have  begun  to  decay.     It 
has  now  become  nearly  a  universal  practice  to  cut  clean  and  close. 
Experience  has  uniformly  shown  this  to  be  most  economical. 
Several  of  my  correspondents  have  subjoined  the  reason.    One 
of  them*  writes, — "  Trees   which   remain  where    woods   are 
thinned,  are  much  shaken  by  the  winds,  and  often  destroyed. 
Again,  unless  the  timber  be  all  or  nearly  all  taken  off,  the  new 
growth  is  shaded,  sparse  and  feeble.     But  where  a  new  forest 
springs  up,  it  accommodates  itself  to  all  circumstances  of  wind 
and  tempest."     Another |  says, — "Some  persons  in  this  town 
have   trimmed   up   young    white   oak   and   walnut    (hickory) 
woods,  clearing  the  undergrowth,  when  the  wood  itself  con- 
sisted of  young  shoots  of  10  or  12  years  of  age.     The  result  of 
this  experiment  does  not  seem  to  justify  a  continuation  of  the 
practice."     Experience  here  seems  to  confirm  a  well  known 
principle,  that  the  quantity  of  wood  formed  depends  upon  the 
number  of  the  branches,  or  rather  upon  the  extent  of  surface  of 
the  leaves.     To  the  question, — "How  soon  will  a  wood,  which 
has  been  cut  entirely  down,  renew  itself  so  as  to  be  profit- 
ably cut  again?"  the  answers  are  very  full  and  satisfactory, 
though  very  various.    The  object  is  every  where  supposed  to  be 
fuel.     Some  give  a  definite  period,  varying,  for  different  places, 
from  15,  17.  18,  20,  to  25,  30  and  35  years.     The  average  of 


*  William  Bacon,  Esq.,  of  Mount  Osceola,  Richmond. 
f  Austin  Bacon,  Esq.,  of  Natick. 

4 


26  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ten  such  is  23  years.  Others  speak  less  definitely,  from  15  to 
20,  17  to  30,  20  to  25,  20  to  30,  20  to  33,  20  to  40,  25  to  30,  25 
to  35,  30  to  35,  for  woods  of  miscellaneous  growth.  The  aver- 
age deduced  from  fourteen  such  statements,  is,  from  21  to  28. 
The  general  average  from  all  is  a  little  over  24  years.  These 
statements  are  probably  as  definite  as  the  case  admits.  Differ- 
ences of  situation,  exposure,  soil,  and  kind  of  trees,  would  of 
necessity  lead  to  them.  For  particular  trees,  the  answers  are 
more  precise.  The  white  or  grey  birch  is  of  most  rapid  growth, 
and  springs  at  once  from  the  stump.  This  may  be  profitably 
cut  in  from  10  to  20  years;  a  growth  of  maple,  ash  and  birch, 
black,  yellow  and  white,  in  20  to  25 ;  oaks  in  from  20  to  33. 
Where  the  trees  are  principally  oak,  white,  black  and  scarlet, 
the  forest  may  be  cut  clean  three  times  in  a  century.  Cedar 
swamps,  which  grow  from  seed,  cannot  be  profitably  cut  in  less 
than  40  years.  Pitch  pines,  which  also  spring  only  from  seed, 
are  very  slow  at  first,  and  require  from  40  to  60  years  to  be  in 
a  condition  to  be  felled.  In  many  places,  the  experiment  has 
been  tried  of  burning  over  the  surface,  ploughing,  and  sowing 
with  rye.  When  the  trees  have  been  of  hard  wood,  this  prac- 
tice is  strongly  condemned.  In  the  case  of  the  pitch  pine,  it  is 
recommended.  The  seedling  pines  make  much  more  rapid 
progress  when  the  surface  has  been  softened  by  cultivation. 

An  intelligent  gentleman  of  great  experience,  A.  M.  Ide,  Esq., 
of  South  Attleborough,  gives  me  a  statement  of  some  important 
facts  bearing  upon  the  subject.  "  Having  been,  for  thirty  years 
past,  more  or  less  engaged  in  buying  woodland  and  cutting  it 
off,  I  wish  to  state  that  I  know,  from  careful  observation,  that 
an  acre  of  good  land,  where  there  is  a -mixture  of  the  several 
kinds  of  oak  and  walnut,  (hickory,)  cut  off  while  young  and 
thrifty,  will  produce,  during  the  first  20  or  25  years,  a  cord  of 
wood  yearly."  "I  believe  that  most  kinds  of  hard  wood  are 
worth  twenty  or  thirty  per  cent,  more,  for  fuel,  at  the  age  of  25 
years  than  at  75."  This  important  fact  is  confirmed  by  many 
of  the  wood-growers  in  the  Old  Colony,  and  in  other  parts  where 
the  woods  have  been  repeatedly  cut  down.  It  is  remarkable 
that  all  the  facts  and  testimony  lead  to  the  same  conclusion. 
The  trees  best  for  fuel  shoot  again  most  readily  and  vigorously 


THINNING  AND  PRUNING.  27 

when  cut  under  25  years.  The  wood  is  formed  within  that 
time  as  rapidly,  taking  a  forest  together,  as  at  any  other  age ; 
and,  for  fuel,  it  is  then  of  most  value. 

In  cutting  with  a  view  to  future  timber,  the  tree  should  be 
felled  as  close  to  the  ground  as  possible,  as  the  shoots  will  then 
be  erect.  In  cutting  with  a  view  to  fuel,  it  is  of  less  conse- 
quence. Several  suckers  will  be  thrown  out,  all  of  which  will 
be  curved  at  base,  but  they  will  all,  thereby,  have  more  room 


to  grow. 


To  the  questions, — "  Stumps  of  trees  of  what  age,  when  felled, 
will  shoot  up  most  vigorously  ?  Is  there  any  age  at  which  they 
cease  to  shoot?  What  trees  will  not  shoot  from  the  stump?" 
the  answers  are  equally  full.  To  the  first  of  these  questions, 
the  uniform  answer  is,  that  the  stumps  of  young,  healthy,  grow- 
ing trees,  shoot  most  vigorously.  They  should  not  be  under  15 
years,  nor  much  over  20.  The  almost  uniform  answer  to  the 
second  question,  is,  that  shoots  will  not  come  from  very  old 
trees.  From  those  of  old  trees  they  spring  up,  but  die  in  one  or 
two  years.  Stumps  of  trees  that  had  begun  to  decay,  seldom 
give  any  shoots.  In  some  cases,  suckers  come  from  the  roots  of 
old  trees,  but  not  from  the  stump.  A  single  individual  thinks 
that  the  power  of  throwing  up  shoots  from  the  stump,  never 
ceases  during  the  life  of  the  tree. 

As  to  the  third  question,  all  agree  that  evergreens  never  give 
permanent  shoots  from  the  stump.  Several  persons,  who  have 
attended  to  the  growth  of  the  sugar  maple  say,  that  the  stump 
of  this  tree  makes  no  shoots ;  and  the  same  is  said  of  the  beech. 

As  to  the  season  of  the  year  most  favorable  for  felling  a  for- 
est, when  the  object  is  to  have  it  renew  itself  speedily,  the  tes- 
timony is  various,  but  not  absolutely  discordant.  All  agree  in 
saying,  that  the  tree  should  be  felled  when  not  in  leaf.  The 
majority  say,  generally,  in  the  winter  months;  some,  between 
November  and  April.  A  correspondent  in  Plymouth,  my  friend 
G.  P.  Bradford,  who  kindly  took  great  pains  to  get  information 
extensively  from  the  wood -growers  in  that  neighborhood,  says, — 
"It  is  generally  considered,  by  those  well  acquainted  with  the 
matter,  much  preferable  for  the  future  growth,  to  fell  a  forest  in 
April  and  May.     The  wood  is  not  so  good  as  when  cut  between 


28  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

November  and  April."  This  is  confirmed  by  several  other  per- 
sons who  have  enjoyed  means  of  extended  observation.  The 
convenience  of  the  wood-cntter  will  generally  lead  him  to  fell 
the  forest  in  the  early  part  of  winter ;  and,  probably,  taking  into 
consideration  both  the  quality  of  the  wood  cut,  and  the  welfare 
of  the  future  forest,  this  may  be  best. 

When  the  object  is  to  destroy  the  growth,  summer  is  univer- 
sally declared  to  be  the  best  season  to  fell  a  forest.  As  to  the 
month,  opinions  differ.  Many  say,  August,  or  late  in  summer ; 
some  say,  June  and  July,  or  midsummer.  Mr.  A.  C.  Metcalfe, 
a  very  intelligent  farmer  of  Lenox,  says, — "In  August,  or  when 
the  tree  has  attained  its  full  growth  for  that  season."  This 
seems  to  be  the  true  period,  at  whatever  time  it  takes  place; 
when  the  wood  is  formed  and  before  it  has  hardened,  and  the 
materials  are  laid  up,  in  the  trunk  and  root,  for  future  growth. 
Mr.  A.  Bacon  describes  a  conclusive  experiment.  "  A  gentle- 
man residing  in  this  vicinity,  effected  the  clearing  of  a  lot  of 
young  walnuts,  (hickories,)  oaks  and  birches,  in  the  follow- 
ing manner.  He  commenced  cutting  about  the  first  of  March, 
and  felled  successive  portions  as  he  found  leisure,  till  about 
the  first  of  July.  That  portion  which  was  cut  between  the 
18th  and  30th  of  June,  was  killed  to  the  letter.  Those  which 
were  cut  before  the  leaves  put  forth,  were  most  prompt  in  the 
renewal  of  their  sprouts." 

I  find  an  opinion  very  generally  expressed  or  implied,  that 
every  tree  has  a  period  of  growth,  maturity  and  decay.  This 
is  apparently  hostile  to  the  theory  universally  received  by  the 
vegetable  physiologists,  that  the  growth  of  every  exogenous  * 
tree,  is,  by  its  nature,  indefinite.  The  discrepancy  admits  of 
being  easily  reconciled.  Throughout  Massachusetts,  in  the 
land  left  in  forest,  the  soil  is  thin  and  poor.  It  will,  therefore, 
in  a  comparatively  short  period  of  years,  be  exhausted  of  the 
nutriment  essential  to  trees  of  any  particular  species.  Every 
tree,  like  every  other  organized  being,  must  perish  when  de- 
prived of  its  necessary  food.     It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 

*  All  the  common  trees  of  our  climate  are  exogenous,  that  is,  they  annually 
form  a  layer  of  new  wood  between  the  old  wood  and  the  bark. 


THINNING  AND  PRUNING.  29 

that,  in  many  soils,  the  trees  should  at  last  be  unable  to  ob- 
tain sufficient  nourishment,  and  should  consequently  thence- 
forward begin  to  cease  to  grow,  and  finally  perish  from  inan- 
ition. We  do  not  find  this  taking  place  on  our  rich  intervales, 
and  it  might  every  where,  probably,  be  prevented  by  sup- 
plies of  fresh,  nourishing  soil.  The  proper  inference,  therefore, 
from  the  fact  that  trees  are  dying  on  the  ground,  is,  that  their 
appropriate  nourishment  is  exhausted,  and  that,  if  the  ground 
is  to  be  continued  in  forest,  it  should  be  sown  or  planted  with 
trees  of  some  other  kind. 

This  is  clearly  indicated  by  what  is  constantly  going  on  in 
the  forests,  particularly  the  fact  which  I  have  already  stated, 
and  which  is  abundantly  confirmed  by  my  correspondents,  that 
a  forest  of  one  kind  is  frequently  succeeded  by  a  spontaneous 
growth  of  trees  of  another  kind.  Mr.  P.  Sanderson,  of  East 
Whately,  writes  me,  "There  is  an  instance,  on  my  farm,  of 
spruce  and  hacmatack  being  succeeded  by  a  spontaneous  growth 
of  maple  wood."  Mr.  Metcalfe,  of  Lenox,  says, — "A  forest  of 
beech  and  maple  is  now  growing  on  my  father's  farm,  where 
stumps  of  white  pine  and  some  of  oak  and  chestnut,  are  very 
numerous  and  very  large."  Oaks  and  pines  most  frequently 
succeed  each  other.  Mr.  E.  Swift,  of  Falmouth,  writes,' — 
"  Many  instances  have  occurred  in  this  town,  of  pine  lands 
having  been  cleared  of  the  pine  timber,  which  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  a  spontaneous  growth  of  oak."  J.  H.  Cobb,  Esq., 
of  Dedham,  says, — "I  have  known  pine  succeeded  by  hard 
wood  in  several  instances."  Mr.  S.  Freeman,  of  Brewster,  de- 
clares,— "I  have  known  frequent  instances,  where  a  forest  of 
oaks  has  been  entirely  cut  down,  and  succeeded  by  a  growth  of 
pine,  and  vice  versa."  Mr.  W.  Bacon,  of  Richmond,  writes, — 
"  We  have  seen  hemlock  succeeded  by  white  birch  in  cold 
places,  and  by  hard  maple  in  warm  ones ;  beech  succeeded  by 
maple,  elm,  &c."  I  have  many  similar  statements  from  all 
parts  of  the  State.  Indeed,  the  Hon.  D.  P.  King,  of  Danvers, 
tells  me  that  the  fact  is  so  universally  admitted,  that  he  is  sur- 
prised at  my  asking  the  question. 

This  alternation  is  not,  however,  universal.     In  order  that  it 


30  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

should  take  place,  the  woods  must  contain  trees  of  various  kinds 
sufficient  to  supply  the  whole  surface  with  seed.  When  this  is 
the  case,  a  wood  of  one  kind  will  usually  be  found  full  of  little 
trees  of  other  kinds.  "Upon  clearing  off  the  old  growth,  the 
undergrowth,  which  has  been  kept  from  the  sun,  shoots  up 
with  astonishing  rapidity."  *  That  portion  of  it  which  is  most 
unlike  the  previous  growth,  finds  plentiful  nutriment,  while  the 
proper  food  of  the  previous  forest  has  been  exhausted,  and  the 
woods  naturally  change  their  aspect. 

The  forests,  as  has  been  stated,  form  or  improve  a  soil.  This 
they  do  by  their  annual  deposit  of  leaves,  and  by  rendering  the 
ground  accessible  to  air,  by  the  action  of  their  roots.  Both 
operations  are  essential,  and  aid  each  other.  If  the  leaves  were 
not  deposited,  the  surface  of  the  ground  would  speedily  become 
dry  and  hard,  and  the  radicles  which  had  previously  pervaded 
it,  would  be  exposed  to  cold  in  winter,  and  to  heat  and  drought 
in  summer.  The  covering  of  leaves  protects  against  all.  By 
them  the  superficial  portions  are  kept  moist  and  soft,  and  per- 
meable by  the  delicate  radicles,  and  these  are  protected,  while 
they  are  made  readily  accessible  to  moisture  from  rain  charged 
with  carbonic  acid,  and  to  air  and  a  tempered  warmth.  The 
covering  of  leaves  thus  secures  all  those  circumstances  which 
are  most  favorable  to  vegetable  growth.  It  is,  therefore,  justly 
enumerated,  by  some  of  my  correspondents,  among  the  things 
most  unfavorable  to  the  growth  of  trees,  to  gather  the  leaves 
together,  as  is  frequently  done,  either  to  burn  them  or  to  add 
them  to  the  compost  heap.  This  is  bad  economy.  It  is  double 
robbery.  It  is  taking  from  the  forest  what  belongs  to  it,  and  is 
almost  essential  to  it,  and  it  is  spreading,  with  loss  of  time,  upon 
the  present  cornfield,  what,  left  undisturbed,  is  at  once  a  store- 
house and  laboratory  of  manure  for  the  future  cornfield,  on 
which  it  is  already  spread  and  spreading  itself. 

The  other  circumstances  enumerated  as  particularly  unfavor- 
able to  the  growth  of  trees,  are  browsing,  pruning,  a  thin  soil, 
exposure  to  sea  breezes,  to  high  winds,  and  to  frosts. 

*  Mr.  A.  Bacon,  of  Natick. 


THINNING  AND  PRUNING.  31 

The  first  of  these,  completely  within  the  control  of  the  for- 
ester, is  the  browsing  of  cattle.  This  is  highly  injurious  to  a 
forest  in  every  state.  It  is  destructive  to  the  young  trees,  to  the 
lower  branches  of  taller  trees,  and  to  the  undergrowth,  which, 
in  an  old  forest,  is  the  hope  of  the  future.  Sheep  and  horses 
are  not  less  injurious  than  cattle.  All  should  be  entirely  ex- 
cluded from  woodlands  intended  to  be  valuable  as  such,  and  to 
renew  themselves.* 

I  have  already  spoken  of  priming.  Where  the  object  is  wood, 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  any  pruning  is  advisable,  except  in 
the  case  that  a  branch  of  one  tree  materially  interferes  with  the 
growth  of  another.  Plants  receive  food  by  their  roots,  and  di- 
gest and  convert  it  to  their  various  products,  by  and  in  their 
leaves.  Both  roots  and  leaves  should  therefore  be  left  to  extend 
and  expand  themselves  as  freely  as  possible ;  the  one  to  occupy 
all  the  space  just  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  other  to 
gain  all  the  air  and  light  within  their  reach  above.  Whatever 
checks  this  free  expansion,  has  a  tendency  to  lessen  the  product 
of  wood. 

On  thin  soil  the  roots  cannot  penetrate  far,  and  a  tree,  sur- 
rounded by  others,  will  soon  exhaust  the  proper  nutriment 
within  its  circle,  and  must  then  begin  to  fail.  As  soon  as  this 
happens,  it  must  be  removed,  and  trees  of  other  families  must 
be  sown  or  planted  in  its  stead.  The  proper  treatment  for  thin 
soils,  is,  therefore,  a  rapid  alternation  of  crops. 

Most  forest  trees  are  injuriously  affected  by  the  sea-breeze, 
and  we  generally  find  them  stunted  and  dwarfed  by  its  influ- 
ence. The  remedy  is  to  plant  numerously  the  hardiest  trees 
along  the  seaward  border.  Those  that  most  successfully  resist 
the  sea-breeze,  are  the  sycamore  or  plane  tree,  the  linden,  the 
poplars,  particularly  the  balm  of  Gilead.  and  many  of  the  pines. 
Almost   all  trees   may  do  it  when    growing  in  large    masses. 

*  Where  a  forest  is  to  be  renewed  artificially,  and  where  the  trees  are  out  of  the 
reach  of  cattle,  there  is  no  objection  to  their  grazing  among  them.  One  consider- 
able recommendation  of  the  Duke  of  Athol's  mode  of  redeeming  lands  by  planting 
larches,  is,  that  the  ground  is  improved  for  pasturage  by  the  growth  of  grass  under 
the  shade  of  the  trees. 


32  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  effect  will  then  be  less  and  less, — rapidly  diminishing  as 
you  recede  from  the  sea.  On  the  capes  and  headlands  pro- 
jecting into  the  Atlantic,  along  the  coast  of  Massachusetts  and 
Maine,  and  exposed  to  the  terrible  northeast  winds,  the  undis- 
turbed original  forests,  when  half  a  mile  wide,  have  in  the 
middle  as  large  trees  as  are  due  to  their  depth  of  soil. 

It  is  often  very  difficult  to  make  trees  begin  to  grow  near  the 
sea;  sometimes  it  is  impossible,  without  protection.  But  a  low 
wall  of  loose  stones,  seaward,  is  sufficient  to  protect  yoimg  trees 
near  it  until  they  get  a  little  higher  than  the  wall.  The  suc- 
cessive rows  inland  will  be  better  and  better  protected,  and  will 
rise  each  higher  than  the  preceding;  until,  at  the  distance  of  a 
few  rods,  they  may  rise  to  a  tolerable  height.  When  a  belt  of 
trees  is  once  established,  in  such  a  situation,  it  should  be  kept 
undisturbed  as  long  as  it  will  serve  the  purpose  of  protecting 
the  trees  within,  though  it  may  be  of  no  other  value. 

A  course  altogether  similar  should  be  taken  in  planting  a 
much  exposed  hill.  By  beginning  at  the  bottom  and  gradually 
planting  upwards,  the  top  may  at  last  be  clothed ;  as  every  belt 
of  trees  of  a  few  feet  in  height,  will  protect  a  younger  one  a 
little  higher  on  the  hill. 

Wherever  trees  are  planted  for  use  in  the  arts,  it  is  important 
to  give  them  the  most  rapid  growth  possible.  Of  wood  growing 
on  the  same  soil,  that  which  grows  most  rapidly  is  strongest. 
That  of  which  the  circles  of  growth  are  narrowest  is  also  weak- 
est* This  fact  is  familiarly  known  to  ship-builders,  makers 
of  lasts  and  of  trenails,  and  of  all  those  articles  which  require 
great  strength.  The  reason  is  obvious.  The  circles  of  annual 
growth  are  separated  by  zones  of  loose,  porous  structure  and 
inferior  strength. 

The  strength  of  wood  is  proportioned  to  its  weight.     And  as 

*  Buffon,  II.,  307.  A  circle  of  wood  is  annually  formed  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree, 
between  the  outer  previous  circles  and  the  inner  bark.  The  space  intervening 
between  the  annual  circles  or  layers,  is  loose  and  porous,  and  contains  very  little 
solid  substance  or  strength.  The  more  frequently,  therefore,  these  weak  spaces 
succeed  each  other  in  a  given  thickness  of  wood  the  less  must  be  the  solidity  and 
strength  of  the  wood. 


THINNING  AND  PRUNING.  33 

young  trees  grow  more  rapidly  than  old  ones,  they  are  more 
valuable  as  fuel.  Round  wood  of  oak  or  maple  gives  more  heat 
than  that  which  is  so  large  as  to  require  to  be  split.  This  fact 
shows  the  wastefulness  of  burning  on  the  ground  the  under- 
growth and  the  trimmings,  in  clearing  for  cultivation  or  cut- 
ting for  cord  wood.  Heart  wood  is  heaviest,  and  the  weight 
diminishes  on  proceeding  outwards  to  the  surface  or  upwards 
to  the  top  of  the  tree,  but  much  less  in  old  trees  than  in  young 
growing  ones.  The  sap  wood  of  oak  was  found  by  Decandolle 
to  fall  short  of  the  heart  wood  in  weight,  in  the  proportion  of 
6  to  7. 

It  has  long  been  known  that  summer  or  early  autumn 
is  the  season  most  favorable  for  the  felling  of  timber,  where 
the  object  is  strength  and  durability.  One  reason  why  timber 
has  not  usually  been  cut  at  that  season  is,  that  most  of  those 
who  fell  trees  are  at  that  season  occupied  with  their  farming. 
The  felling  of  trees  is  their  winter  employment.  Nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  Timothy  Pickering  showed  by  ex- 
periments which  he  adduced,  and  by  sound  reasoning,  that 
summer  is  better  than  winter  for  this  purpose.*  A  writer 
in  the  N.  E.  Farmer,!  who  "has  wrought  more  timber  than 
most  men,  and  for  more  uses  than  any  he  knows  of,"  says,  he 
has  found  soft  maple,  cut  in  September,  three  times  more  lasting 
than  ash  or  walnut  cut  in  winter ;  that  he  has  found  the  sap- 
wood  of  oak,  cut  in  February  and  March,  partly  decayed  in 
September,  and  the  sap-wood  of  timber  cut  in  May  and  June, 
decayed  in  a  year,  while  the  sap-wood  of  trees  felled  in  Septem- 
ber was  perfectly  bright  and  sound  after  two  years ;  and  that, 
from  many  observations  he  has  made,  he  is  satisfied  that  Sep- 
tember is  the  best  time  for  felling  trees ;  and  that  if  the  tree  be 
disbarked  in  June,  and  allowed  to  stand  till  September,  the  tim- 
ber will  be  stronger  and  more  durable.  He  has  seen  this  proved 
with  regard  to  elm,  walnut  (hickory,)  and  maple,  which  are 
considered  the  most  perishable  of  the  trees   used  for  timber. 


*  See  Vol.  I.,  No.  3,  for  August,  1822,  of  the  N.  E.  Farmer. 
t   Mr.  Phineas  Stevens,  of  Andover.     Ibid,  II.,  370. 

5 


34  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  same  writer  says,*  that  maple  wood  felled  in  June  is 
liable  to  white  rot,  while  that  felled  in  September  remains 
sound  in  the  same  situation ;  and  that  timber  felled  in  Septem- 
ber will  not  suffer  from  red  rot  or  from  powder-post.  It  seems 
reasonable,  that  a  tree  felled  after  the  growth  for  the  year  is 
completed,  and  before  the  leaves  have  fallen,  should  have  all  its 
wood  more  mature,  and  should,  at  the  same  time,  be  prepared  to 
be  more  easily  and  thoroughly  seasoned,  than  if  felled  at  any 
other  season.  The  evaporation  which  takes  place  from  the  sur- 
face of  living  leaves  is  very  great.  If,  therefore,  the  tree  is 
felled  while  the  leaves  are  fresh,  their  evaporative  action,  which 
continues  for  some  time  after  the  tree  has  fallen,  will  speedily 
dissipate  all  the  unappropriated  moisture  which  the  trunk  con- 
tains. If,  on  the  contrary,  the  tree  is  felled  after  the  leaves 
have  been  shed,  all  this  moisture  must  remain  to  be  slowly 
thrown  off  by  the  usual  process  of  drying.  If,  again,  the  tree 
is  felled  earlier  in  the  season,  while  full  of  sap,  and  when  the 
newly  formed  wood  has  not  yet  been  ripened  by  the  action  of 
the  sim,  there  must  be  much  of  crude  and  acrid  juices,  not 
easily  to  be  got  rid  of,  and  many  particles  of  immature  wood, 
at  least  in  the  outer  layer,  which  will  render  the  process  of 
seasoning  slower  and  more  uncertain. 

There  is  much  evidence  to  be  found  in  books  and  in  the  expe- 
rience of  ship-builders,  that  sticks  of  timber  cut  in  the  end  of  sum- 
mer, and  seasoned  only  by  this  speedy  action  of  the  leaves,  often 
out-last  winter-cut  timber,  which  has  had  years  of  seasoning. 

The  naturalist,  Buffon,  after  numerous  experiments  carefully 
made  on  a  large  scale,  and  continued  through  many  years,  ar- 

*  Ibid,  VI.,  394.     He  subjoins  a  table  of  the  comparative  value  of  timber  felled 

at  the  two  seasons  of  the  year  mentioned,  which  he  thinks  correct  or  nearly  so  : — 

Oak,  cut  in  September,  10.0 — in  June,  4.5 

Maple.  "     "  "  10.0—"       "      2.4 

Walnut,  (Hickory),   "     "  "  10.0—"       "     2.5 

Elm,  "     "  "  10.0—"       "      1.6 

Ash,  "     "  "  10.0—"       "      3.2 

The  four  last,  compared  with  white  oak,  provided  all  were  felled  in  September 

will  stand  thus  : — 

Oak,  10.0— Maple,  5.5— Walnut,  6.2— Elm,  4.5— Ash,  5.6. 


THINNING  AND  PRUNING.  35 

rived  at  the  conclusion  that  nothing  contributes  so  much  to  the 
solidity,  strength  and  durability  of  timber,  as  completely  strip- 
ping the  trees  of  their  bark,  some  years, — at  least  three,  before 
they  are  to  be  felled.  This  should  be  done  in  the  spring,  when 
the  bark  is  most  easily  separable.  The  tree  continues  to  put 
forth  leaves,  and  to  expand  and  mature  them  for  several  suc- 
cessive seasons.  But  as  no  new  wood  can  be  formed,  after  the 
bark  is  removed,  Buffon  supposed  that  all  the  action  of  the 
leaves  goes  to  add  to  the  substance  of  the  wood  previously 
formed.*  It  is  thus  increased  in  density  and  weight;  and  he 
found  that,  universally,  in  the  same  kind  of  wood,  strength  is 
proportional  to  weight.  By  this  process,  the  sap-wood  was  ren- 
dered as  dry,  hard  and  strong,  as  heart-wood,  and  in  some 
instances  even  stronger.  Timber  managed  in  this  way  was 
foimd  to  be  sometimes  a  fourth  part  stronger  than  that  from 
trees  in  the  same  forest,  and  in  all  other  respects  precisely  sim- 
ilar, treated  in  the  usual  way ;  that  is,  felled  with  the  bark  on, 
and  dried  under  the  open  sky  or  under  sheds,  f 

Such  are  some  of  the  suggestions  which  I  have  desired  to  lay 
before  my  fellow-citizens  of  Massachusetts,  for  the  improvement 
of  their  forests  and  the  redemption  of  their  waste  lands.  I  have 
opened,  very  imperfectly,  the  great  and  important  study  of  the 
history  and  management  of  forest  trees.  A  tree  is  the  most 
magnificent  among  the  material  works  of  God.  The  nature, 
the  relations  to  soil,  to  climate  and  to  exposure,  the  affinities, 
the  properties  and  the  uses  to  man  and  other  animals,  the  dan- 
gers from  enemies  and  diseases  within  and  without,  and  the 
circumstances  necessary  to  secure  the  health,  growth  and  beauty 
of  the  trees  of  any  one  family,  are  subjects  worthy  of  the  delib- 
erate and  mature  and  long  continued  attention  of  any  man,  of 
whatever  intelligence,  and  with  whatever  resources  of  science. 
The  best  disposition  of  trees  in  the  landscape,  the  treatment  of 
each  according  to  its  character  and  appearance  at  all  seasons  of 

*  This  it  probably  does  by  appropriating  the  substance  destined  for  new  layers  of 
wood,  to  lining  and  filling  up  the  cells  or  tubes,  of  which  woody  fibre  is  composed. 

f  See  Buffon,  Tome  II.,  edition  de  Richard,  1839.  Experiences  sur  les  Vegetaux. 
Second  Memoire,  p.  325,  et  suivantes. 


36  TREES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  year,  so  as  to  foresee  and  to  produce  the  desired  effect  at  every 
point  which  the  eye  can  reach,  and  the  adaptation  of  the  various 
kinds  of  trees  to  the  houses,  churches,  bridges,  and  other  struct- 
ures already  existing  or  to  be  erected,  and  also  to  water,  and  to 
roads, — things  evidently  possible  and  yet  indefinitely  difficult, — 
to  do  all  this  successfully  is  the  province  of  an  art,  which  well 
deserves  to  take  its  place  in  the  front  rank  among  the  fine  arts ; 
whether  we  consider  the  science,  taste  and  skill  which  it  calls 
into  play,  the  vastness  of  the  scale  on  which  it  acts,  or  the 
grandeur  of  the  end  which  it  has  in  view. 

But  why  should  it  be  thought  important  to  reclaim  or  ren- 
der valuable  the  waste  or  worthless  lands  of  Massachusetts? 
There  are  millions  of  acres  of  land  in  the  Western  States  far 
richer  than  any  in  our  State,  which  may  be  purchased  for  much 
less  than  it  will  cost  to  render  barren  land  productive.  Why 
not  go  thither  and  occupy  the  rich  wild  lands 1  For  many  rea- 
sons. This  is  our  native  land.  It  is  painful  to  break  the  chain 
of  affection  which  connects  us  with  it.  It  is  painful  to  separate 
members  of  the  same  family.  Every  improvement  in  agricul- 
ture, in  the  management  of  the  forests,  and  in  the  use  of  the 
other  natural  resources  of  our  State,  makes  it  capable  of  sus- 
taining a  larger  population,  and  thus  enables  more  of  our  young 
men  and  young  women  to  remain  with  us,  rendering  home 
dearer  to  those  who  would  otherwise  be  left  behind.  The  ad- 
vantages of  our  life,  in  the  long  settled  parts  of  the  Bay  State, 
are  greater  than  can  be  expected,  for  more  than  a  single  genera- 
tion to  come,  in  the  newly  settled  regions  of  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  or  in  any  other  new  region.  There  are  still  higher 
reasons.  We  live  in  a  climate  and  on  a  soil,  best  adapted,  from 
their  very  severity  and  sterility,  to  bring  out  the  energies  of  mind 
and  body,  and  to  form  a  race  of  hardy  and  resolute  men.  We 
have  our  churches,  our  schools,  our  libraries,  our  intelligent  and 
virtuous  neighbors, — dearer  to  us  than  any  strangers  can  be. 
These  we  are  not  willing  to  leave.  We  wish  that  our  children 
should  grow  up  under  the  influence  of  the  institutions  which 
our  forefathers  have  formed  and  left  to  us,  and  which  we  have 
been  endeavoring  to  improve.  Here  we  wish  to  live  and  to  die ; 
and  when  we  die,  we  wish  to  be  surrounded  by  those  who  are 
most  dear  to  us. 


WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 


DISTRIBUTION  INTO  FAMILIES  AND  GENERA. 

By  means  of  the  following  analytical  arrangement,  the  name 
and  the  place  in  the  volume  of  any  plant  described,  may  he 
readily  found.  Each  line  is  a  question  to  be  asked  in  regard 
to  the  plant  whose  description  is  sought.  In  case  of  an  affirm- 
ative answer,  the  reader  is  referred  by  the  Arabic  number  at 
the  end  of  the  line  to  the  next  question,  which  will  be  indicated 
by  the  same  number  at  the  beginning  of  a  line.  By  pursuing 
this  course,  he  will  be  finally  referred  to  the  place  of  the  family 
and  genus  where  the  description  is  given.  The  Roman  num- 
bers refer  to  the  family  ;  the  Arabic  numbers  which  follow  the 
Roman,  refer  to  the  genus  under  that  family. 

A  few  words  of  explanation  are  necessary  to  enable  the  reader 
to  understand  the  arrangement  of  the  table  and  the  language 
used  in  reference  to  the  flower  and  fruit. 

A  complete  flower,  the  apple  blossom,  for  example,  is  composed 
of,  1,  an  empalement  or  calyx  of  one  or  several  leaves,  called 
sepals  of  the  calyx;  2,  within  these,  of  the  flower  leaves  or  petals 
of  the  corolla,  usually  colored  of  some  other  color  than  green ;  3, 
of  one  or  more  stamens,  thread-like,  crowned  by  anthers  which 
contain  the  fertilizing  dust  or  pollen ;  and  4,  in  the  centre  of  the 
flower,  of  one  or  more  pistils,  which  are  made  up  of  the  ovary 
or  vessel  containing  the  ovules  or  future  seeds,  surmounted  by  a 
stigma,  which  is  often  supported  by  a  slender  column  called  a 
style.  A  perfect  flower  is  one  which  contains  both  stamens  and 
pistils. 

The  matured  ovary,  with  the  seed  or  seeds  which  it  contains, 
is  called  the  fruit.    A  stone  fruit  with  a  fleshy  covering,  like  the 
G 


38 


WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


cherry,  is  called  a  drupe.  A  samara  is  a  nut  with  a  winged 
margin,  like  the  key  of  the  maple  or  the  winged  seed  of  the  elm. 
A  capsule  is  a  dry  fruit  formed  of  a  compound  ovary  and  open- 
ing of  itself,  as  the  seed-vessel  of  kalmia,  or  shedding  its  seed 
through  chinks,  as  in  the  poppy.  A  pome  is  an  apple,  or  a  fruit 
resembling  an  apple.* 

6  7  s  9  10 


On  most  of  the  trees  of  temperate  regions,  the  flowers  are  in- 
complete ;  wanting  corolla  or  calyx  or  both,  and  having  their 

*  Explanation  of  the  Figures. — 1.  A  flower  of  the  common  cherry,  Cerasus 
vulgaris,  showing  {a,  a.)  the  petals  of  the  corolla,  and  (b)  the  stamens.  2.  A 
separate  petal.  3.  A  calyx  laid  open,  showing  (d,  d,)  the  divisions  or  sepals, 
(b)  the  stamens  springing  from  the  inner  edge  of  the  calyx,  (c)  the  pistil  occupying 
the  centre  of  the  flower,  and  consisting  of  an  ovary,  surmounted  by  a  style  crowned 
with  a  stigma.  4.  A  stamen,  consisting  of  (/)  the  filament,  and  (h)  the  anther.  5.  A 
pistil  magnified,  showing  (c)  the  ovary,  (s)  the  style,  (e)  the  stigma.  6.  An  ovary 
much  magnified  and  laid  open,  showing  (g)  the  ovule  suspended  within.  7.  Ver- 
tical section  of  the  fruit  or  drupe  of  a  cherry,  showing  the  embryo  in  the  centre 
with  the  radicle  superior,  or  at  the  top.  8.  The  embryo  taken  out,  with  the  cotyle- 
dons (i)  partly  expanded,  the  radicle  (r),  with  the  plumule  (p)  lying  between  the 
cotyledons.  9.  An  embryo  germinating ;  (i,  i,)  the  cotyledons  or  seed-leaves  with 
the  plumule  (p),  now  becoming  leaves,  between  them  ;  (t)  the  stem  ;  and  (r)  the 
radicle,  now  become  the  root  of  the  young  plant.  10.  A  vertical  section  of  a  seed 
of  the  barberry,  Birberis  vulgaris,  magnified,  and  showing  the  embryo  with  its 
leaf-like  cotyledons  (i)  and  tapering  radicle  (r),  immersed  in  albumen  (u). 


DIVISION  INTO  FAMILIES  AND  GENERA.        39 

place  supplied  by  scales;  and  sometimes  having  the  stamens 
and  pistils  in  different  flowers  on  the  same,  or  even  on  different 
trees.  They  are  often  disposed  in  catkins  or  aments,  which  are 
the  cylindrical,  pendulous  tassels  which  are  seen,  early  in  spring, 
on  the  birch  and  alder,  for  example ;  or  clustered  and  horizontal 
near  the  ends  of  the  branches  of  the  pine.  In  the  plane  tree  they 
are  globular.  In  my  arrangement,  I  shall  begin  with  those  plants 
whose  flowers  are  simplest  or  least  complete,  consisting  of  sta- 
mens only  or  seed-vessels  only,  sustained  and  protected  by  one 
or  two  scales,  and  usually  disposed  in  catkins  ;  and  proceed,  in 
order,  to  those  which  have  a  calyx,  but  no  corolla ;  those  which 
have  calyx  and  corolla ;  first  of  one  petal ;  and  lastly  to  those 
with  a  corolla  of  many  petals  with  many  stamens  and  pistils, — 
whose  flowers  are  most  complete. 

An  example  will  show  the  way  in  which  the  table  may  be 
used. 

Suppose  that  a  person  has  found  a  tree,  with  rough,  simple, 
alternate  leaves,  flowers  of  two  kinds,  some  with  5  stamens  and 
no  style,  others  with  5  stamens  and  2  styles,  with  a  calyx  but 
no  corolla,  and  a  fleshy,  berry-like  fruit  with  a  stone  containing 
a  single  seed.  He  wishes  to  ascertain  what  the  tree  is.  He 
begins  with  the  first  question,  and,  as  the  flowers  are  not  in 
catkins,  is  referred  to  question  9.  By  that,  as  the  leaves  are 
alternate,  he  is  referred  to  20 ;  thence,  as  the  stamens  are  fewer 
than  10,  to  21;  thence,  as  the  flowers  are  regular,  to  22;  as 
the  flowers  have  not  a  corolla,  but  only  a  calyx  resembling  a 
corolla,  he  is  referred  to  23,  and  thence  to  24 ;  they  have  2  styles, 
and  he  is  referred  to  28 ;  5  stamens,  to  55,  and  he  learns  that 
his  tree  belongs  to  the  Elm  Family.  The  answer  to  question 
55  shows  him  that  it  is  the  Nettle  Tree,  and  is  described  in  the 
second  section  of  the  tenth  family,  which  he  will  find  indicated 
by  X.  2.  on  the  left  of  the  title  on  page  307. 

DIVISION    INTO    FAMILIES. 

j    S  Flowers  in  catkins.  2. 
"  \  Flowers  not  in  catkins.  9. 

{Leaves  needle-shaped  or  scale-like,  mostly  evergreen.   43.    Pine  Fami- 
ly. I. 
Leaves  not  needle-shaped  or  scale-like.  3. 


40  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sterile  flowers  only  in  catkins.  4. 

Both  sterile  and  fertile  flowers  in  catkins.  5. 

(  Leaves  simple  ;  nuts  in  a  cup.  49.  Oak  Family.  II. 

I  Leaves  pinnate  ;  nuts  not  in  a  cup.  51.  Walnut  Family.  IV. 


I 


Seeds  with  a  tuft  of  cotton  ;  fertile  and  sterile  flowers  on  different  plants. 

54.  Willow  Family.  VIII. 
Seeds  without  a  tuft.  6. 


{Leaves  palmate  ;  both  fertile  and  sterile  flowers  in  globular  catkins.  Plank 
Family.  VII. 
Leaves  not  palmate.  7. 

!  Fruit  woody,  or  membranous  or  winged.  52.  Birch  Family.  V. 
Fruit  a  dry  berry  or  nut,  not  winged.  8. 
Fruit  a  fleshy,  compound  berry.  Mulberry  Family.  IX. 


■s. 


Nut  more  or  less  covered  or  concealed.  50.  Hornbeam  Family.  111. 
Nut  naked.  53.   Wax  Myrtle  Family.  VI. 


{Leaves  opposite.  10. 
Leaves  alternate.  20. 
Leaves  wanting.  Cactus  Family.  XXV. 


PLANTS    WITH    OPPOSITE    LEAVES. 


.„   $  Flowers  with  a  calyx,  and  a  corolla  of  1  petal,  or  with  no  corolla.   11. 
Flowers  with  a  calyx,  distinct  or  obscure,  and  a  corolla  of  many  petals.  15 . 


11 


Corolla  wanting.   12. 
Corolla  of  1  petal.  13. 


\ 

12  <  Leaves  simple;  fruit  a  double  samara  or  key.  Maple  Family.  XXXIII. 
''  (  Leaves  pinnate  ;  fruit  a  single  samara  or  key.  Ash  Family.  XV.  2. 

C  Stamens  4  ;  calyx  and  corolla  4-parted  ;  ovary  2-  or  4-celled.  58.  Mad- 
13.  1     der  Family.  XVII. 

(  Stamens  4  or  5  ;  calyx  and  corolla  5-parted  ;  ovary  3- or  5-celled.   14. 

f Corolla  tubular,  often  irregular;    style  thread-like.    59.   Honeysuckle 
14    !      Family.  XX. 

'  j  Corolla  wheel-shaped,  regular;  style  almost  wanting.  61.  Elder  Fam- 


ily. XIX 
15.  f 


Stamens  fewer  than  10.   16. 

Stamens  more  than  10  ;  style  one.  78.  Rock  Rose  Family.  XXXVII. 


!  Stamens  more  numerous  than  the  petals.   17. 
Stamens  as  many  as  the  petals.   18. 
Stamens  once,  or  several  times,  3,  stigmas  3.  78. 

._   (  Fruit  a  leathery,  prickly  capsule.  Horse  Chestnut  Family,  p.  479. 
'  \  Fruit  a  double  samara  or  key.  Maple  Family.  XXXIII. 

(  Stamens  opposite  the  petals ;  berry  above  the  obsolete  calyx.  76.  Vine 
18.  J      Family.  XXX. 

(  Stamens  alternate  with  the  petals.   19. 

{Calyx  beneath  2  or  3  inflated  capsules.  Bladder  Nut.   XXXII.   1. 
Calyx  indistinct,  surmounting  a  2-celled  drupe.  Cornus  Family.  XXII. 
Calyx  evident ;  flowers  in  terminal  panicles  ;  berry  fleshy .  Pkim.  XV.  1. 


DIVISION  INTO  FAMILIES  AND  GENERA         41 


PLANTS  WITH  ALTERNATE  LEAVES. 


•{ 


j  Stamens  10,  or  a  smaller  number.  21. 
Stamens  more  than  10.  40. 


{Flowers  irregular,  butterfly-shaped  ;    fruit  in  a  pod.    75.    Bean  Fam- 
ily. XXIX. 
Flowers  regular  or  nearly  so.  22. 

o2  5  Flowers  with  one  petal,  petals  united  at  base,  or  with  no  corolla.  23. 
'  \  Flowers  with  a  corolla  of  many  petals.  30. 

(  Flowers  with  a  calyx,  but  no  corolla.  24. 

23.  <  Flowers  with  an  evident  calyx,  and  a  corolla  of  one  petal,  or  united 
(      petals.  35. 

(  With  1  style  or  stigma  ;  leaves  simple.  25. 

24.  \  With  2  styles  or  stigmas,  divergent ;  leaves  simple.    28. 

(  Pistils  several ;  leaves  compound.  Prickly  Ash  Family.  XXXV. 

{Leaves  with  transparent  dots ;  anthers  opening  by  valves.  56.  Cinnamon 
Family.  XII. 
Leaves  not  dotted  ;  anthers  not  opening  by  valves.  26. 


ruit  one-seeded.  27. 
uit  3-or  more-seeded  ;  a  drupe  or  berry.  29. 


28. 


2j  5  Fruit  crowned  with  a  calyx.  Sandal-wood  Family.  Tupelo.  XI. 
'  \  Fruit  not  crowned  with  a  calyx.  28. 

Stamens  5 ;  a  tree.  55.  Elm  Family.  X.  8. 

Stamens  8  ;  a  shrub.  Mezereum  Family.  Leather  wood.  XIII. 

("Leaves  broad  and   flat;    stamens  4  or  5.     77.     Buckthorn    Family. 

XXXI. 
29.-^  Leaves  broad  and  flat ;  stamens  6  ;  fertile  and  sterile  flowers  on  different 

plants.  Smilax  Family.  XLI. 
l_Leaves  crowded,  heath-like.  Crowberry  Family.  XIV. 

„„  5  Flowers  with  the  calyx  nearly  obsolete.  31. 
'  (  Flowers  with  an  evident  calyx.  32. 

("Fruit  a  drupe,  crowned  with  the  calyx  ;  stamens  alternate  with  the  pe- 
I      tals.  Cornus  Family.  XXII. 

I  Fruit  a  berry,  above  the  calyx  ;  stamens  opposite  the  petals.    76.    Vine 
L     Family.  XXX. 


31 


("Stamens  as  many  as  the  distinct  petals  and  alternate  with  them.  33. 
22  J  Stamens  as  many  as  the  distinct  petals  and  opposite  them.  38. 
|  Stamens  twice  as  many  as  the  petals,  36. 
|_ Stamens  once,  or  several  times,  3.  37. 

|" Calyx  adherent  to  the  ovary  and  crowning  the  many-seeded  berry.    Cur- 
rant Family.  XXIV. 
on  J  Calyx  half  adherent;  capsule  bony,  2-seeded.    Witch  Hazel  Family. 
•"•1     XXIII. 

Calyx  free  from  the  ovary  ;  fruit  few-seeded.  34. 
l_Calyx  free  ;  fruit  many-seeded.   36. 

o,    <  Stamens  on  a  fleshy  disk-;  capsule  berry-like.  Staff-Tree.  XXXIT.  2. 
"  \  Stamens  from  the  base  of  the  calyx,  or  corolla,  or  from  the  receptacle.  37. 

ok   $  Anthers  opening  by  pores.  36. 

'  )  Anthers  not  opening  by  pores.  57  or  65. 


37. 


42         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

C  Calyx  free  from  the  ovary.  62.  Heath  Family.  XX. 
36.  <  Calyx  adherent  to  the  ovary.     Berries  eatable.    71.    Whortleberry 
(      Family.  XXI. 

Drupe  berry-like,  fleshy  or  pulpy,  with  4 — 8  stones.  57.     Holly  Fam- 
ily. XVI. 
Drupe  dry,  1-celled,  1-seeded.    Sumach  Family.  XXXIV. 
Capsule  3-celled,  1  or  2-seeded.  78. 

!  Stamens  4 — 5  ;  anthers  not  opening  by  valves.  39. 
Stamens  6 ;    anthers  opening  by  valves.     Prickly  shrubs.    Barberry 
Family.  XXXVII. 

(  Tendril-bearing  vines.    Calyx  obsolete.  76.  The  Vine  Family.  XXX. 
39.  <  Erect  shrubs.      Sepals  united  at  base.     77.      Buck-Thorn    Family. 
(     XXXI. 

4f)   (  Stamens  springing  from  the  calyx.  41. 

'  \  Stamens  springing  from  the  receptacle  or  base  of  the  flower.  42. 

!  Fruit  neither  a  pome  nor  a  drupe.  72.  Rose  Family.  XXVI. 
Fruit  a  pome  ;  calyx  persistent.  73.  Apple  Family.  XXVII. 
Fruit  a  drupe  ;  calyx  deciduous.  74.  Almond  Family.  XXVIII. 

Pistil  and  style  one ;  flowers  perfect,  stamens  in  parcels.  Linden  Fam- 
ily. XXXVI. 

Pistil  and  style  one,  flowers  perfect,  stamens  not  in  parcels.  78,  Rock 
Rose  Family.  XXXVII. 

Pistils  about  2  ;  only  one  ripening,  forming  a  lunate  drupe  ;  sterile  and 
fertile  flowers  on  distinct  plants.  Moonseed  Family.  XXXIX. 

Pistils  many,  united  in  a  kind  of  cone  ;  flowers  perfect.  79.  Magnolia 
Family.  XL. 

DIVISION    INTO    GENERA. 

i  Leaves  in  bundles  or  tufts,  in  a  sheath.  44. 
43.  J 


42.^ 


M 


Leaves  solitary.  45. 


»  Leaves  2 — 5  in  a  sheath,  evergreen.  Pine.  I.  1. 
Leaves  15 — 60  in  a  sheath,  deciduous.  Larch.  I.  4. 

»  Leaves  alternate.  46 
45 


•\ 


Leaves  imbricate,  opposite  or  in  whorls.  48. 


.„   j  Fruit  fleshy.  Yew.  I.  8. 
4  '  \  Fruit  not  fleshy.  47. 

.„  5  Bark  always  rough.  Spruce.  I.  2. 
'  \  Bark  smooth  on  young  trees.     Fir.  I.  3. 

("  Leaves  imbricate  ;  branches  fan-like  ;  cones  ovate.  Arbor  Vit^e.  I.  5. 
j  Leaves   imbricate ;    cones   angular,  somewhat    spherical.     White  Ce- 
48.^      dar.  I.  6. 

L Leaves  opposite,  or  in  whorls  ;  cones  berry-like.    Red  Cedar  and  Juni- 
per. I.  7. 

f  Cup  scaly  or  warty,  not  covering  the  acorn.  Oak.  II.  1. 
.„  j  Cup  a  prickly  bur,  covering  the  3-cornercd  nut.   Beech.  II.  2. 
j  Cup  a  prickly  bur,  covering  the  roundish  nut.  Chestnut.  II.  3. 
|_Cup  leathery,  hairy,  covering  the  nut.  Hazel.  II.  4. 


50  J 


Nut  in  the  axil  or  angle' of  a  leaf-like  bract.  Hornbeam.  III.  1. 
Nut  enveloped  in  a  hairy,  inflated  sack.  Hop  Hornbeam.  III. 


«■? 


DIVISION  INTO  FAMILIES  AND  GENERA.        43 

Husk  not  dividing  naturally.  Walnut  and  Butternut.  IV.  1. 
Husk  of  the  fruit  dividing  naturally.    Hickory.    IV.   2. 

("Bark  of  thin,  tough,  horizontal  fibres  ;  aments  simple  ;  scale  of  the  fer- 
_9  J      tile  catkins  3-flowered.  Birch.  V..  1. 

}  Bark  not  of  tough  fibres ;  aments  on  branched  stalks ;  scale  of  the  fer- 
L     tile  catkins  2-rlowered.  Alder.  V.  2. 

{  Leaves  lance-shaped,  serrate.  Wax  Myrtle  and  Sweet  Gale.  VI.  1. 
I  Leaves  sinuate-pinnatifid.  Sweet  Fern.  VI.  2. 


j  Stamens  8 — 30,  or  more  ;  leaves  3-angled  or  roundish.  Poplar.   VIII.  1. 
(  Stamens  2 — 7  ;  leaves  mostly  long,  slender.  Willow.  VIII.  2. 


Flowers  perfect ;  fruit  a  samara.  Elm.  X.  1. 
55.  \  Flovyers  sterile,  or  perfect,  on  one  or  different  trees  ;  fruit  a  drupe.  Net- 
tle Tree.  X.  2. 

f  Anthers  4-celled ;  fruit-stalk  fleshy;    leaves  often  3-lobed.  Sassafras. 
XII.  1. 
Anthers    2-celled ;    fruit-stalk    not    fleshy ;    leaves    entire.     Benzoin. 
^     XII.  2. 

["Leaves  thorny,  leathery,  evergreen.  Holly.  XVI.   1. 
Leaves  unarmed ;  petals  4 — 5,  distinct;  stamens  4—5.   Nemopanthus. 

57.  <      XVI.  2. 

I  Leaves  unarmed  ;  petals  united,  mostly  6-parted ;  stamens  4 — 6.  Wm- 
L     ter  Berry,  Prinos.  XVI.  3. 

(  Flowers  in  globular  heads.  Button  Bush.  XVII.  1. 

58.  <  Flowers  2  on  each  double  ovary  ;  berry  of  2  united  ovaries.  Partridge 
(      Berry,  Mitchella.  XVII.  2. 

(  Stamens  4.     Trailing,  evergreen.  Twin  Flower,  Linn.ea.  XVIII.   1. 
'  I  Stamens  5.  60. 

["Stem  not  woody.     Drupe  3-celled,  3-seeded.  Feverwort.  XVIII.  2. 
I  Stem  woody.     Berry  2 — 3-celled,  few-seeded  ;  flowers  two-fold,  or  in 
60.-^      whorls.  Honeysuckle,  Lonicera.  XVIII.  3. 

I  Stem  woody.     Berry  2-celled,  many-seeded.  Bush  Honeysuckle,  Di- 

l       ERVILLA.    XVIII.    4. 


ri    $  Leaves  pinnate.  Elder.  XIX.  1. 
(  Leaves  simple.  Viburnum.  XIX.  2. 


i  Petals  united.  03. 
02. 


>\ 


Petals  distinct  or  nearly  so.  70. 


!  Corolla  somewhat  funnel-shaped  or  bell-shaped.  04. 
Corolla  salver-shaped.  65. 
Corolla  ovoid.  66. 

,,.    {  Stamens  5  or  6.  Azalea.  XX.    9. 
'  (  Stamens  10.  Rhododendron.  XX.  9. 

Rt.  $  Anthers  resting  in  10  cavities  of  the  corolla.     Kalmia.  XX.  10. 
(  Anthers  free,  calyx  double.  May  Flower,  Epigjea.  XX.  6. 

!  Fruit  a  berry,  formed  of  the  fleshy  calyx.  Chequer-berry.  XX.  7. 
Fruit  a  drupe,  formed  of  the  ovary,  5-seeded.     Bear-berry.  XX.  8. 
Fruit  a  5-celled,  5-valved  capsule.  67.  Andromeda  Tribe.  XX.  1. 

P_  S  Anthers  ending  in  awns  or  bristles.  68.      • 
'  \  Anthers  not  ending1  in  awns.  69. 


44  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 


68. 
69. 


Anthers  2-awned.  Andromeda.  XX.   1. 
Anther-cells  each  2-awned.  Zenobia.  XX.  4. 

Calyx  with  2  bracts  at  base.  Cassandra.  XX.  2. 
Calyx  without  bracts  at  base.  Lyonia.  XX.  3. 


n.\ 


["Capsule  3-celled,   3-valved,   enclosed   by  the  calyx.     Leaves   smooth. 
Clethra.  XX.  5. 
7ft  J  Capsule  5-celled,  5-valved,  opening  at  base.     Leaves  rusty-downy  be- 
j      neath.  Ledcm.  XX.   11. 

Capsule  5-celled,  5-valved,  opening  at  the  summit ;  corolla  irregular. 
(_     Rhodora.  XX.  9. 

f  Corolla  ovoid-bell-shaped.  Berry  sweetish,  black  or  blue.  Whortle- 
I      berry.  XXI.   1. 

Corolla  wheel-shaped,  with  reflexed  segments.  Berry  acid,  red.  Cran- 
berry. XXI.  2. 

Corolla  broad-bell-shaped.  Berry  pleasant,  sub-acid,  white.  Chiog- 
^     enes.  XXI.  3. 

f  Fruit  3 — 5  distinct,  dry  follicles  ;  unarmed.  Hardhack,  Spir.2ea. 
J      XXVI.    1. 

_0    !  Fruit  compound,  of  little  drupes  aggregated  on  a  juicy  receptacle ;  prickly. 
Bramble,  Rubcs.   XXVI.    2. 
Fruit  the  enlarged  calyx,  containing  the  stony  seeds ;  prickly.  Rose, 
Rosa.  XXVI.  3. 

f  Petals  roundish;  branches  thorny.  Hawthorn,  Crataegus.  XXVII.  1. 
I  Petals  roundish;  branches  unarmed.  Pear,  Pyrds,  Sorbus.  XXVII.  2. 
;  Petals  oblong:  pome  with  3 — 5  double  cells.    June  Berry,  Amelan- 

L       CHIER.    XXVII.    3. 

j  Stone  compressed;  fruit  covered  with  a  bloom.  Plum.  XXVIII.  1. 
\  Stone  round  ;  fruit  not  covered  with  bloom.   Cherry.  XXVIII.  2. 

(  Leaves  pinnate ;  stamens  united  ;  flowers  in  pendent  racemes  ;  stipules 
75  J      thorny.  Locust  Tree.  XXIX.  1. 

\  Leaves  simple  ;  stamens  distinct.  Judas  Tree.  XXIX. 

{Leaves 3 — 5  lobed.    Berry  1-celled.  Grape  Vine.  XXX.   1. 
Leaves    digitately    5-leaved.      Berry    2-celled.      Virginia    Creeper. 
XXX.  2. 

("Calyx  free  from  the  ovary;  petals  plain;   flowers  minute;  fruit  like  a 
J      drupe,  black.  Bock  Thorn.    XXXI.    1. 

I  Calyx  adherent  to  the  ovary  at  base  ;  petals  sack-like,  arched  ;  flowers 
l_     in  panicles;  fruit  a  capsule.  Jersey  Tea.  XXXI.  2. 

Petals  5,  yellow;  calyx  5-leaved,  2  outer  smaller;  plant  erect.    Rock 
Rose,  Helianthemum.  XXXVII.  1. 
78. \  Petals  3,  brownish  purple,  sepals  3.  Pinweed,  Lechea.  XXXVII.  2. 
|  Petals  5,  yellow  ;  calyx  3-parted,  tubular,  with  2  outer  minute  divisions  ; 
(_     plant  downy,  tufted.  Hudsonia.   XXXVII.  3. 

(Seeds  pendulous  by  a  thread,  at  maturity;    leaves  oval.    Magnolia. 
79. 1      XL.   1. 

(  Seeds  not  pendulous  ;  leaves  truncate.  Tulip  Tree.  XL.  2. 


77. 


DICOTYLEDONOUS  PLANTS.  45 


THE  WOODY  PLANTS  OP  MASSACHUSETTS. 

FIRST    GENERAL   DIVISION. 

DICOTYLEDONOUS    PLANTS. 

This  division  is  far  the  largest  and  most  important  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom.  To  it  belong  nearly  all  the  woody  plants 
of  temperate  and  cold  regions.  Dicotyledonous  plants  are  distin- 
guished by  the  structure  of  the  wood,  the  structure  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  vessels  and  leaves,  and  especially  by  the  structure  of 
the  seeds.  The  trunk  in  woody  plants  is  composed  of  1,  a  cen- 
tral pith  or  medulla,  which  does  not  extend  into  the  root ;  2,  of  a 
ligneous  medullary  sheath,  enclosing  the  pith ;  3,  of  wood  arrang- 
ed in  circles  or  zones,  the  inner  ones  of  which  are  called  heart- 
wood,  and  the  external,  usually  of  a  different  color,  sap-wood  ; 
and  4,  of  bark,  consisting  of  the  inner  bark,  which  is  somewhat 
woody,  the  outer  bark,  composed  of  a  green  layer  and  a  corky 
layer,  and  the  epidermis  or  skin.  From  the  pith  radiate  on 
every  side,  horizontally,  vessels  called  medullary  rays,  the  sil- 
ver grain  of  wood,  which  extend  through  the  wood  and  bark. 
The  wood  is  formed  by  the  annual  addition  of  a  new  zone  or 
layer  outside  the  older  wood  and  between  it  and  the  bark.  This 
new  zone  consists  essentially  of  woody  vessels  extending  from 
the  leaves  to  the  extremities  of  the  roots,  and  of  the  silver  grain 
or  medullary  rays  which  traverse  it  horizontally  on  their  way 
to  the  bark.  A  new  zone  of  bark  is  at  the  same  time  formed 
between  the  new  wood  and  the  previous  bark.  The  former 
exterior  coats  of  bark  are  forced  to  expand,  to  make  room  for 
the  newly  formed  wood  and  bark ;  and,  when  expanded  to  their 
greatest  capacity,  the  external  layers  yield,  crack,  and  open, 
causing  the  rugged,  ridged,  and  furrowed  appearance  common 
in  bark  on  the  trunk  of  old  trees. 

The  leaves  of  dicotyledonous  plants  are  usually  jointed  or 
articulated  at  base  to  the  stem,  or  they  are  composed  of  several 
7 


46         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

jointed  leaflets,  and  are  netted  and  feather- veined,  the  ribs  and 
veins  branching  and  running  into  each  other ;  while  the  leaves 
of  monocotyledonous  plants  are  without  joints,  and  have  parallel 
ribs  and  veins  which  do  not  thus  intersect. 

The  essential  part  of  the  seed  of  a  dicotyledonous  plant,  the 
embryo,  is  composed  of  two  cotyledons  united  by  a  neck  or 
collar  to  a  radicle  or  future  root.  The  cotyledons  are  the  seed- 
leaves,  which,  after  the  germination  of  the  seed  in  the  earth, 
usually  expand  upon  the  surface,  as  is  conspicuously  the  case 
with  the  beech  and  the  bean.  Between  these  seed-leaves  or 
cotyledons  rises  the  plumule,  the  ascending  axis,  the  future 
stem  of  the  plant.  Below  them  shoots  downward  the  radicle, 
the  descending  axis  or  root. 


THE  PINES.  47 


FIRST   GENERAL   DIVISION. 

DICOTYLEDONOUS  PLANTS. 

CHAPTER  I.    PLANTS   WITH   NAKED   SEEDS. 

FAMILY    I.       THE    PINE   FAMILY. CONIFERS. 

The  pines,  firs,  junipers,  cypresses,  spruces,  larches,  hemlock, 
and  yews,  with  some  foreign  trees,  form  a  very  distinct  and 
strikingly  natural  group.  The  name  evergreen,  by  which  they 
are  commonly  known,  is  liable  to  the  exception  that  one  of  the 
genera  found  in  our  climate,  the  larch,  loses  its  leaves  in  winter. 
But  it  is  so  distinguishing  a  characteristic  of  the  rest,  that  it  is 
likely  to  be  long  retained.  This  family  has  claims  to  our  par- 
ticular attention,  from  the  importance  of  its  products  in  naval, 
and  especially  in  civil  and  domestic  architecture,  in  many  of 
the  other  arts,  and,  in  some  instances,  in  medicine.  Some  of 
the  species,  in  this  country,  are  of  more  rapid  growth,  attain 
to  a  larger  size,  and  rise  to  a  loftier  height  than  any  other  trees 
known.  The  white  pine  is  much  the  tallest  of  our  native  trees. 
Some  are  still  found  in  New  England  reaching  nearly  to  200 
feet ;  and  it  is  not  many  years  since  pines  were  standing  in  the 
eastern  part  of  New  York,  which  measured  240  feet.  Lam- 
bert's Pine,  on  the  Northwest  coast,  is  found  growing  to  the 
height  of  230  feet,*  and  Douglas's  Pine,  in  the  same  region, 
the  loftiest  tree  known,  has  been  said  to  exceed  300  feet. 

*  Mr.  Douglas  gives  the  following  description  of  one: — "One  specimen,  which 
had  been  blown  down  by  the  wind, — and  this  was  certainly  not  the  largest  which  I 
saw, — was  of  the  following  dimensions.  Its  entire  length  was  215  feet;  its  cir- 
cumference, three  feet  from  the  ground,  was  fifty-seven  feet  nine  inches ;  and  at 
one  hundred  and  thirty-four  feet  from  the  ground,  seventeen  feet  five  inches." 
Linnean   Transactions,  16,  p.  500. 

The  resin  of  this  pine  is  used  by  the  natives  of  the  Northwest  Coast  as  sugar  ; 
and  the  seeds  are  eaten,  or  roasted  pounded  into  cakes,  as  part  of  their  winter  store. 
Lambert's  Genus  Pinus,  p.  58. 


48         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

From  the  pines  are  obtained  the  best  masts,  and  much  of  the 
most  valuable  ship  timber;  and  in  the  building  and  finishing  of 
houses,  they  are  of  almost  indispensable  utility.  The  bark  of 
some  of  them,  as  the  hemlock  and  larch,  is  of  great  value  in 
tanning ;  and  from  others  are  obtained  the  various  kinds  of 
pitch,  tar,  turpentine,  resins  and  balsams,  so  important  in  a 
commercial  and  economic  point  of  view.  Oil  of  turpentine, 
and  Bordeaux  and  Strasburg  turpentine,  are  obtained  from 
different  species  of  pine ;  Burgundy  pitch  from  the  resin  of  the 
Norway  spruce ;  Venetian  turpentine  from  the  larch ;  Hunga- 
rian and  Carpathian  balsams  from  pines,  and  Canadian  balsam 
from  our  native  fir.  Liquid  storax  and  the  aromatic  sandarach 
are  the  products  of  oriental  and  African  trees  of  the  same  family. 
Extracts  of  hemlock  and  spruce  enter  into  the  composition  of 
spruce  beer,  as  do  juniper  berries  into  that  of  gin,  and  to  them 
it  probably  owes  its  valuable  diuretic  properties.  The  seeds  of 
several  of  the  larger  pines  are  eatable.* 

There  is  also  another  circumstance  in  their  history,  of  great 
interest  to  a  country  so  large  portions  of  which  are  spread  over 
with  sterile  siliceous  sands.    On  these,  which  are  almost  barren 

*  Lindley's  Nat.  Sys.,  2d  edit.  p.  315.  The  juice  of  the  pine  is  called  liquid 
resin  or  turpentine.  Common  turpentine  is  the  resin  of  the  Scotch  fir,  Pinus  syl- 
vestris,  and  is  obtained  by  making  incisions  in  the  bark  and  wood.  Yellow  resin 
is  obtained  from  this  by  boiling  it  down ;  and  essential  oil  of  turpentine,  or  spirits 
of  turpentine,  by  distillation  with  water,  the  residuum  from  which  operation  is 
common  resin,  black  resin  or  colophony.  These  substances  are  extensively  used 
in  medicine,  by  painters  in  paints  and  varnishes,  and  in  various  processes  of  the 
arts.  Tar  is  obtained  by  slowly  burning  splintered  pine,  both  trunk  and  root, 
without  free  access  of  air,  and  collecting  the  liquid  in  cavities  beneath  the  burning 
pile.  Pitch  is  common  resin  and  tar  melted  together.  Lamp-black  is  made  by 
burning  the  impurities  of  tar  and  pitch  and  collecting  the  soot.  The  inner  bark  of 
the  Scotch  fir  is,  by  the  natives  of  some  northern  regions,  collected  in  spring, 
dried  and  preserved,  to  be  baked  on  coals,  ground,  and  kneaded  into  bread. 
Hungarian  balsam  exudes  from  the  branches  of  the  Mugho  pine,  P.  pumilio,  and 
an  essential  oil,  called  Krumholz  oil,  is  distilled  therefrom.  Carpathian  balsam 
is  distilled  from  the  shoots  of  the  Siberian  stone  pine,  P.  Cembra.  Strasburg 
turpentine  is  the  liquid  resin  of  the  silver  fir,  P.  picea,  collected  from  the  vesi- 
cles in  the  bark  ;  as  is  Canada  balsam  or  balsam  of  Gilead,  from  those  in  the 
bark  of  our  balsam  fir,  P.  balsamea.  Concrete  resin  exudes  from  the  Norway 
spruce ;  Burgundy  pitch  is  prepared,  by  boiling,  from  the  resinous  juice  of  the 
same  tree,  flowing  from  incisions  in  the  bark. 


I.  THE  PINES.  49 

of  other  products,  several  species  of  pines  may  be  planted  or 
are  found  growing  naturally  with  an  approach  to  luxuriance. 
They  will  even  take  root  and  flourish  among  the  moving  sands 
exposed  to  the  sea-breezes,  thereby  fixing  these  sands,  and  re- 
deeming to  the  use  of  man,  tracts  otherwise  destined  to  perpet- 
ual sterility. 

The  root,  of  the  pines  is  generally  woody  and  irregularly  ram- 
ified, and  remarkable  for  its  toughness  and  durability.*  It  never 
descends  to  a  great  depth,  but  spreads  horizontally,  to  no  great 
distance,  near  the  surface.  It  is  short  and  small,  in  comparison 
to  the  size  of  the  tree,  in  this  respect  resembling  that  of  the 
palms.  In  consequence  of  this  peculiarity,  most  of  the  pines 
are  uprooted  by  high  winds,  while  the  deciduous  trees  are  bro- 
ken oft"  near  the  ground.  In  the  winter  of  1839 — '40,  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  examining  the  roots  of  a  very  large  number  of 
various  species  of  pine  which  had  been  uprooted  by  the  vio- 
lent gale  of  the  previous  November,  and  I  found  that,  in  every 
case,  they  spread  to  a  very  inconsiderable  distance,  just  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  In  old  trees,  of  several  species,  par- 
ticularly the  white  pine,  the  swollen  roots  appear  above  the 
ground  to  some  distance  from  the  trunk.  In  no  instance,  except 
in  the  anomalous  case  of  the  Southern  cypress,f  are  suckers 
thrown  up  from  the  root;  and  only  in  the  pitch  pine  have 
shoots  been  observed  to  spring  from  the  stump. 

Most  of  the  plants  of  this  family  are  trees  of  an  erect,  straight, 
cylindrical  trunk,  often  of  great  size  and  height.  In  some,  as 
the  hemlock,  the  yew  and  the  ginkgo  tree,  the  branches  have  no 
regular  order,  but  in  most,  and  especially  in  the  firs  and  pines, 
they  are  disposed  circularly,  in  imperfect  whorls,  around  the 

*  L.  C.  Richard,  Commentatio  Botanica  de  Coniferis  et  Cycadeis,  p.  89,  et  seq. 

f  There  is  a  striking  peculiarity  in  the  roots  of  the  Cupressus  disticha  (Taxo- 
dium)  of  our  southern  states.  This  tree  grows  naturally  in  low  grounds  subject 
to  annual  inundations,  in  which  situation  it  rises  sometimes  to  the  height  of  120 
feet,  with  a  diameter  at  base  of  25,  30,  or  even  40  feet.  The  roots,  which  run 
horizontally  at  a  short  depth  below  the  surface,  throw  up  conical,  rounded  protu- 
berances, sometimes  4  or  5  feet  high,  but  usually  much  smaller,  smooth  without 
and  hollow,  looking  not  unlike  mile-posts,  and  remaining  always  naked.  These 
may  be  observed,  on  a  small  scale,  about  the  base  of  the  magnificent  cypress  in 
Bartram's  garden  near  Philadelphia. 

8 


50         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

trunk.  One  of  these  whorls  is  formed  each  year,  from  the  row 
of  buds  which  encircle  that  of  the  leading  shoot,  thus  furnishing 
an  easy  mode  of  ascertaining  the  age  of  young  trees.  Where 
they  grow  together  in  thick  woods,  as  occurs  every  where  in 
our  primeval  forests,  the  lower  whorls  of  branches  speedily 
decay,  from  the  absence  of  light  and  air,  leaving  a  smooth 
trunk,  rising  with  a  beautiful  shaft  and  scarcely  perceptible 
taper,  without  a  branch,  to  the  height  of  60  or  even  100  or  more 
feet.  In  the  same  manner  grow  the  spruces  and  firs,  and  so  the 
white  pines  in  Maine  still  grow.  Most  of  these  forests,  of  the 
larger  trees,  have  disappeared  from  Massachusetts,  though  a 
few  are  still  to  be  found.  In  the  cedar  swamps,  the  straight 
stems  are  often  found  so  near  together,  that  such  swamps  can 
with  great  difficulty  be  penetrated. 

The  disposition  and  direction  of  the  branches  present  striking 
differences  in  the  different  species,  giving  them  each  a  peculiar- 
ity of  aspect  by  which  they  can  easily  be  distinguished  at  a 
distance.  The  regular  horizontal  stages  of  the  white  pine,  the 
round,  tufted  masses  of  the  pitch  pine,  the  fan-like  branches  of 
the  arbor  vitse,  the  formal  pyramid  of  the  spruce,  the  graceful 
cone  of  the  fir,  the  fantastic  and  irregular  raggedness  of  the  red 
cedar,  the  spiry  grace  of  the  white  cedar,  and  the  softness  and 
delicate  outline  of  the  hemlock,  must  have  struck  every  ob- 
server. When  growing  naturally  in  the  forest,  the  branches  are 
always  small;  but  when  a  tree  stands  by  itself,  the  branches 
often  grow  large,  and  are  numerous  and  permanent;  and  when 
the  leading  shoot  is  destroyed,  the  upper  branches,  particularly 
in  the  white  and  pitch  pines,  attain  a  great  size.  The  bark  of 
these  trees,  while  young,  is  thin,  and  in  most  cases  smooth. 
In  the  pitch  and  red  pines  and  in  the  spruce,  it  is  always  rough. 
On  the  fir,  it  remains  always  thin  and  comparatively  smooth, 
and  full  of  cavities  or  crypts  containing  the  balsam.  In  most 
of  the  true  pines,  it  becomes,  on  old  trees,  very  thick,  rugged 
and  deeply  cleft.  In  the  hemlock,  and  larch,  and  in  some  of 
the  pines,  it  is  charged  with  tannin. 

The  wood  is  disposed  in  concentric  circular  layers.  The 
fibres  are  parallel  and  not  closely  arranged,  but  have  consider- 
able strength  and  elasticity.     The  wood  differs  physiologically 


I.  THE  PINES.  51 

from  that  of  other  trees,  in  being  made  up  entirely  of  woody- 
fibres,  which  are  hollow  tubes  marked  externally  with  rows  of 
microscopic,  circular  disks.  The  resin  is  deposited  in  peculiar 
vessels  which  have  received  the  name  of  turpentine  vessels. 
From  the  great  abundance  of  resin  which  it  contains,  the  wood 
is  very  combustible  and  remarkable  for  its  durability.  In  the 
wood  of  most  of  the  pines  the  resin  does  not  seem  to  be  depo- 
sited, at  least  in  great  quantities,  during  the  life  of  the  part. 
Old  trunks  are  often  found  consisting  almost  entirely  of  heart- 
wood,  soft  and  of  a  reddish  or  yellowish  color,  almost  free  from 
resin  throughout.  Where  a  growing  branch  is  broken  off,  the 
remaining  portion  becomes  charged  with  resin,  forming  what  is 
called  a  pitch-knot,  extending  sometimes  to  the  heart.  The 
same  thing  takes  place,  through  the  whole  heart  of  a  tree, 
Avhen,  full  of  juices,  its  life  is  suddenly  destroyed ;  and  it  is  com- 
monly supposed  that  the  heart-wood  of  the  trunk  of  a  pitch  pine 
increases  in  weight  after  it  has  fallen  to  the  ground. 

The  leaves  of  the.  pines  are  very  various.  Most  of  the  species 
have  persistent  leaves,  and  naturally  come  under  the  denomi- 
nation of  evergreen ;  but  some  of  them,  as  the  larch  and  ginkgo 
tree,  for  example,  lose  their  leaves  at  the  approach  of  winter. 
In  the  yew  and  some  others,  they  are  scattered  irregularly;  in 
some,  as  the  arbor  vitas,  they  are  opposite ;  in  others,  as  the 
juniper,  they  are  in  whorls;  and  in  the  true  pines,  they  are  in 
bundles  or  fascicles,  contained  in  a  sheath  formed  of  an  altered 
leaf.  The  bundles  in  the  true  pines,  and  the  solitary  leaves 
in  several  of  the  most  nearly  allied  genera,  are  arranged  in 
spiral  lines,  which,  to  the  number  of  five,  six,  or  more,  run 
parallel  to  each  other  around  the  tree.  The  same  arrangement 
is  found  in  the  scales  of  the  cones.  The  bundles  are  considered 
by  the  botanist  as  extremely  short,  abortive  branches,  as  is  often 
obvious  in  the  larch.  If  we  examine  a  pine  of  the  first  or  second 
season,  which  may  be  readily  done  in  our  pine  forests,  we  find 
the  leaves  single.  Afterwards,  from  the  axil  of  the  solitary 
leaves,  bundles  of  leaves,  or  abortive  branches  make  their  ap- 
pearance, and  finally  the  leaves  are  protected  at  base  by  a 
sheath. 

The  shape  of  the  leaves  is  singularly  various.     For  the  most 


52  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

part  they  are  linear,  needle-like  or  awl-shaped  and  stiff,  as  in 
the  true  pines,  in  which  they  vary,  in  different  species,  from  two 
or  three  to  twelve  and  even  eighteen  inches  in  length,  in  bun- 
dles of  from  two  to  six  in  a  bundle.  In  the  firs  and  spruces 
they  are  shorter,  and  flat  or  prismatic ;  still  more  so  in  the  juni- 
per and  the  yew ;  and  in  the  cedar  and  cypress  they  are  reduced 
to  little  more  than  pointed  scales.*  All  of  this  family  may  be 
considered  as  destitute  of  stipules ;  the  apparent  stipules  some- 
times seen  on  the  shoots  from  the  stump  of  the  pitch  pine,  being 
in  reality  solitary  leaves,  with  bundles  of  leaves  springing  from 
their  axils. 

The  buds  exhibit  a  great  variety  of  structure.  Often  they 
are  naked,  as  in  the  juniper  and  arbor  vitse,  the  apparent  scales 
taking,  as  they  expand,  the  form  of  true  leaves.  Sometimes, 
as  in  the  several  species  of  pine,  they  are  covered  by  scales 
totally  different  from  leaves.  They  are  sometimes,  as  in  the 
fir,  enveloped  by  resin ;  sometimes  free  from  it.  They  usually, 
as  in  the  pines,  proceed  only  from  the  extremity  of  the  trunk  or 
branches,  and  contain  the  annual  addition  to  the  stem,  and  the 
whorl  of  branches. 

With  very  few  exceptions,  the  pines  are  monoecious,  the  male 
and  female  flowers  being  in  different  parts  of  the  same  plant, 
both  usually  disposed  in  cones  or  catkins,  but  totally  unlike  in 
structure.  The  male  flowers  consist  of  one  or  more  stamens 
usually  attached,  with  or  without  a  stalk,  to  a  scale,  which, 
however,  is  sometimes  wanting.  The  catkins  of  the  male  flow- 
ers are  far  more  numerous  than  the  cones  of  the  female  flowers. 
The  yellow  pollen,  which  is  very  abundant,  often  falls  in  such 
quantities  upon  the  branches  and  leaves  below,  and  upon  the 
neighboring  plants,  as  to  cover  them ;  and  being  as  light  and 
fine  as  dust,  it  has  been  sometimes  carried  by  the  wind  from  a 
forest  of  pines  and  spread  upon  the  ground  at  a  distance.  This 
affords  a  probable  explanation  of  the  stories  which  have  been  told, 

*  In  some  of  the  foreign  genera,  they  are  broader  and  lanceolate,  as  in  podocar- 
pus  ;  whilst  in  a  few,  as  the  agathis  and  ginkgo,  they  expand  into  a  resemblance  to 
the  leaves  of  other  dicotyledonous  vegetables.  In  the  remote  genera  callitris  and 
ephedra,  they  are  so  small,  scale-like  and  distant,  as  to  give  the  plant  the  appear- 
ance of  being  destitute  of  leaves. 


I.  THE  PINES.  53 

and  which  have  been  regarded  with  superstition  or  incredulity, 
of  showers  of  sulphur.* 

The  female  flower  has  till  recently  been  considered  as  a  pis- 
til enclosed  by  a  calyx  and  accompanied  by  one  or  more  scales. 
Robert  Brown  has  satisfactorily  shown  that  in  all  plants  of  this 
natural  family,  there  is  neither  pistil  nor  stigma,  but  that  what 
have  been  considered  such,  are  merely  the  extremities  of  a  tube 
leading  to  a  naked  ovule,  which  is  fertilized  by  the  direct  con- 
tact of  the  pollen  from  the  male  flower.  In  several  of  the  gen- 
era the  female  flowers  are  single,  and  terminal  or  axillary.  In 
most  others  they  are  arranged  in  cones.  They  are  extremely 
simple,  consisting  usually  of  two  scales,  one  which  hardens 
and  enlarges  and  forms  a  part  of  the  surface  of  the  cone,  and  a 
thinner  one  within  it. 

The  ovary,  with  the  calyx  scale  to  which  it  more  or  less 
adheres,  becomes  the  fruit.  These  have  a  great  variety  of 
appearance,  from  the  fleshy,  berry -like  fruit  of  the  yew  and  juni- 
per, to  the  winged  scale  of  the  pine ;  but,  when  carefully  exam- 
ined, in  their  earlier  stages,  they  are  seen  to  have  a  strong  resem- 
blance ;  the  fruit  of  the  yew  being  formed  by  an  extraordinary 
development  of  the  receptacle,  which,  in  most  of  the  other  genera, 
experiences  little  change,  in  the  true  pines  a  portion  only  of 
calyx  expanding  into  a  membranous  wing. 

The  cones  of  many  of  the  pines  require  two  or  three  years  to 
come  to  perfection.  That  of  Pinus  pinea,  the  stone  pine  of 
Europe,  with  edible  seeds,  requires  four.  During  the  first  sea- 
son the  cone  attains  one-third  part  of  its  size ;  in  the  second  it 
reaches  its  full  size  but  remains  green ;  in  the  third  the  scales 
usually  become  dry,  change  color  and  open,  and  the  winged 
seed  escapes  and  is  carried  to  a  distance  by  the  winds. 

The  seeds  of  many  of  the  pines  are  large  and  eatable.  Those 
of  our  forests  are  small,  but  they  are  eagerly  eaten  by  such  birds 
as  have  the  means  of  separating  them  from  their  cones ;  such 
as  the  pine  cross-bill;  and  they  furnish  a  portion  of  the  winter's 

*  Poiret,  Botanique,  Dictionnaire  Methodique,  V.,  331.  Lambert,  describing  the 
common  Scotch  fir,  says,  "  The  pollen  is  sometimes  in  spring  carried  away  by  the 
wind  in  such  quantities,  as  to  alarm  the  ignorant  with  the  notion  of  its  raining 
brimstone." — Genus  Pinus,  p.  2. 


54         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

store  to  the  red  squirrel  and  other  small  quadrupeds  which  do  not 
hybernate.  These  seeds  consist  of  farinaceous  matter  impreg- 
nated with  resin  and  oil.  They  are  thence  very  nutritious.  In 
some  instances  they  may  be  eaten  without  preparation,  as  is 
the  case  with  those  of  the  stone  pine  of  the  South  of  Europe, 
in  several  countries  of  which  they  form  a  not  unimportant  arti- 
cle of  food,  and  those  of  the  Araucarian  pine  *  of  South  America. 
In  other  cases  the  acridity  of  the  oil  must  be  previously  removed 
by  roasting. 

The  tenacity  of  life  of  the  seeds  is  remarkable.  They  will 
remain  for  many  years  unchanged  in  the  ground,  protected  by  the 
coolness  and  deep  shade  of  the  forest  above  them.  But  when 
the  forest  is  removed  and  the  warmth  of  the  sun  admitted,  they 
immediately  vegetate.  When  the  first  leaves  make  their  ap- 
pearance above  the  surface,  some  of  them,  as  those  of  the  true 
pine  and  of  others  of  that  section,  exhibit  several  seed-leaves, 
showing  that  their  seeds  are  apparently  provided  with  several 
cotyledons.  They  thus  form  an  exception  to  the  nearly  univer- 
sal character  of  the  division  of  plants  to  which  they  belong. 
Some  physiologists  consider  the  exception  only  apparent,  and 
regard  the  cotyledons  as  two,  very  deeply  lobed. 

Insects  on  the  Pines. — With  the  exception  of  the  oaks,  the 
pines  furnish  sustenance  to  a  greater  number  of  insects  than 
any  other  family  of  trees.  The  several  parts  of  the  tree,  the 
leaves,  the  bark,  the  shoots,  and  the  trunk,  have,  each,  their 
peculiar  inhabitants  and  enemies,  terms  which  in  this  case  are 
synonymous. 

The  leaves  of  the  pines  feed  the  "  curiously  checkered  cater- 
pillar of  the  Sphinx  coniferarum ;"  those  of  the  pitch  pine, 
and,  more  especially,  of  the  fir,  are  destroyed  by  swarms  of  the 

*  The  Indians  make  use  of  the  fruit  of  this  tree,  the  Araucaria  imbricata,  as  a 
very  nourishing  food.  They  eat  it  raw  as  well  as  boiled  and  roasted  ;  with  it  they 
form  pastry,  and  distil  from  it  a  spirituous  liquor.  There  are  stated  times  to  col- 
lect the  fruit,  which  they  preserve  to  make  use  of  as  required. — Lambert's  Genus 
Pinus,  p.  108. 

The  seeds  of  the  Brazil  pine,  Araucaria  Braziliana,  are  sold  as  an  article  of  food 
in  the  streets  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. — Id.  111. 


I.  THE  PINES.  55 

false  caterpillars  of  the  Lophyrus  abietis.- — (Harris's  Report, 
pp.  230,  375.) 

Several  species  of  weevil,  of  which  two  (the  Pales  weevil, 
Ciirculio  pales,  and  the  white  pine  weevil,  Rhynchosnus  strobi, — 
Report,  pp.  62 — 64),  are  particularly  described  by  Dr.  Harris, 
dwell,  during  their  larva  state,  under  the  bark  of  the  pitch  pine, 
the  white  pine,  and  probably  others,  and  often  do  immense  in- 
jury by  destroying  the  alburnum  and  the  inner  portion  of  the 
bark.  Whole  forests  of  pines  are  sometimes  thus  killed  by  these 
apparently  insignificant  creatures.  In  addition  to  this  mode  of 
assault,  the  weevil  which  receives  its  name  from  the  white 
pine,  does  great  mischief  by  piercing,  with  holes  from  the  inte- 
rior of  the  wood  to  the  bark,  the  leading  shoot  of  this  tree,  thus 
destroying  the  shoot  and  maiming  and  deforming  the  tree. 
These  attacks  would  soon  be  fatal  to  the  whole  race  of  white 
pines  and  probably  all  the  others  of  the  genus,  were  it  not  for 
an  ichneumon-fly  which  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  larva  of  the 
weevils,  and  the  effectual  services  of  the  woodpeckers,  who 
spend  their  useful  lives  in  destroying  them.  The  terminal  buds 
and  leading  shoots  of  the  pines  and  firs,  are  often  destroyed  by 
turpentine  moths,  an  entirely  different  enemy,  associated  with 
the  leaf-rollers. — (Toririces,  ib.  p.  350.) 

A  small  brown  cylindrical  beetle,  the  boring  hylurgus,  (Hylirr- 
gas  terebrans,  ib.  72),  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  bark  of  the  pitch 
and  other  pines,  the  soft  inner  layers  of  which  the  grubs  devour, 
and.  by  preventing  the  formation  of  new  wood  and  by  loosening 
the  bark,  cause  the  trees  to  languish  and  decay.  They  are 
sometimes  accompanied  by  the  grub  of  a  smaller  bark-beetle, 
(the  Tomicus  exesus,  ib.  74),  which  leads  a  similar  life,  with 
similar  consequences.  Another  still  smaller  beetle  of  the  same 
pernicious  family  and  habits,  (the  Tomicus  pin i  of  Mr.  Say,  ib. 
74,)  has  been  found  under  the  bark  of  the  white  and  pitch  pines 
and  that  of  the  larch.  The  red  cedar  has  a  very  small  bark- 
beetle,  {Hylurgus  dentatus,  the  toothed  hylurgus,  ib.  73).  A 
still  more  conspicuous  bark-loosener,  the  ribbed  Rhagium,  (Rha- 
gium  lineatum,  ib.  93),  which  does  a  work  hardly  less  fatal  for 
that  tree,  is  found,  in  the  grub  state,  often  in  great  numbers 
under  the  bark  of  the  pitch  pine. 


56         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

But  the  most  numerous,  if  not  the  most  fatal  of  the  enemies 
of  the  pines,  are  the  various  kinds  of  borers  which  infest  the 
trunk,  on  the  wood  of  which  they  subsist.     Two  species  of 
Urocerus,  or  horn-tail,  neither  of  them  common,  (the  albicornis 
and  abdominalis;  ib.  391 — 2),  are  found  on  the  pines.     They 
bore  long  holes  in  the  trunk.     The  grubs  of  the  one-colored 
Prionus,  {Prionus  unicolor,  ib.  80),  a  large  beetle,  are  also  found 
in  the  same  trees.     Several  beetles  of  the  genus  Callidium,  live, 
while  in  the  grub  state,  in  the  trunk  of  pines  and  firs  or  in  the 
timber  of  these  trees.     One  of  them,  {Callidium  bajulus,  ib.  83), 
which  is  found  in  "fir,  spruce  and  hemlock  wood  and  lumber," 
is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  from  Europe.     Of  the  Bu- 
prestian  beetles,  the  larvae  of  which  are  wood-borers  and  eaters, 
and  several  of  which  are  particularly  fond  of  pines,  the  largest 
is  the  Virginian  {Buprestis  Virginica,  ib.  43),  which  commits 
great  ravages  by  boring  in  the  trunks  of  the  various  kinds  of 
pine  trees.     A  much  smaller  species,  {Buprestis  fulvogultata, 
the  tawny -spotted,  ib.  45),  has  been  taken  from  the  trunk  of  the 
white  pine.     Young  saplings  and  small  limbs  of  the  same  spe- 
cies of  tree,  are  inhabited  by  a  beetle  of  nearly  the  same  size 
with  the  last -mentioned,  to  which  has  been  given  by  Professsor 
Hentz,  the  name  of  Dr.  Harris's  Buprestis,  {Buprestis  Hamsii, 
ib.  p.  45.) 

The  soil  natural  to  most  of  the  pines  is  a  sand  formed  origi- 
nally by  the  crumbling  or  disintegration  of  the  granitic  rocks. 
These,  in  the  forms  of  gneiss,  mica  slate  and  granite,  are  the 
prevailing  rocks  of  Massachusetts;  large  portions  of  which, 
moreover,  are  overspread  by  the  diluvium  of  sand  formed  from 
them.  A  large  part  of  the  surface  was,  therefore,  and  in  many 
places  still  is,  covered  with  forests  of  pine.  The  different  species 
are  adapted'  to  the  opposite  extremities  of  moisture  and  dryness. 
The  pitch  pine  flourishes  on  arid  and  parched  sands ;  the 
white  cedar  thrives  in  swamps  which  are  inundated  almost 
through  the  year;  the  white  pine  prefers  a  situation  moder- 
ately dry,  but  is  often  found  in  swamps;  the  red  cedar  and  larch 
are  found  on  rocky  hills  nearly  destitute  of  soil,  and  the  spruce 
and  hemlock  grow  naturally  in  places  inclined  to  moisture. 


I.  THE  PINES.  57 

The  pines  are  most  readily  propagated  by  seed.  In  and  near 
the  pine  forests,  they  are  sown  naturally  by  the  opening  of  the 
cones  when  mature,  and  the  dispersion  of  the  winged  seeds  by 
the  wind.  As  the  seeds  of  most  species  are  very  light,  they  are 
often  carried  to  a  considerable  distance,  and  their  abundance  is 
such,  that  a  single  tree  is  sufficient  to  furnish  seed  for  many 
acres.  A  few  pines  scattered  through  a  forest  of  deciduous 
trees,  fill  the  ground  with  seed,  in  a  series  of  years,  so  com- 
pletely, that  when  the  forest  is  cut  down,  it  not  unfrequently 
happens  that  a  pine  forest  springs  up  in  its  place. 

If  the  trees  are  to  be  propagated  artificially,  the  seed  must  be 
deposited  on  or  near  the  surface ;  it  should  not  be  buried  be- 
neath, or,  in  case  this  is  absolutely  necessary,  as  when  they 
are  sown  in  open  fields,  the  covering  should  not  exceed  an 
eighth  of  an  inch,  and  should  be  light  and  loose.  A  soil  and 
surface  formed  by  the  decay  of  the  leaves  of  deciduous  trees,  is 
best,  as  it  is  precisely  that  in  which  the  seed  naturally  vegetates. 
There  are  now,  in  every  part  of  Massachusetts,  large  tracts  of 
land  which  are  too  sterile,  or  too  rough  and  rocky,  to  be  culti- 
vated to  advantage,  which  might  be  easily  sown  with  the  dif- 
ferent species  of  pine  adapted  to  the  various  soils.  The  pitch 
pine  would  cover  the  sands,  the  red  cedar  and  larch  the  rocky 
hills,  the  white  cedar  the  swamps,  and  the  hemlock  and  spruce 
and  white  pine  all  the  regions  between.  Such  tracts  are  usually 
overrun  with  low  bushes,  amongst  which  the  seeds  might  be 
cast,  and  which  would  afford  protection  to  the  young  plants 
against  the  winds,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

All  the  pines  require  to  be  cultivated  in  large  masses.  They 
naturally  grow  thus,  and  although,  when  so  growing,  they  seem 
to  be  extremely  hardy,  they  do  not  thrive  when  solitary,  but 
are  parched  by  the  sun,  and  stunted  by  the  cold  and  wind.  In 
masses,  especially  when  large  enough  to  cover  several  acres, 
they  not  only  protect  each  other,  but  are  the  best  possible  nurses 
for  the  tender  deciduous  trees.  For  this  purpose,  they  are  ex- 
tensively employed  in  all  young  plantations  in  England  and 
France,  where  the  cultivation  of  forest  trees  has  received  the 
greatest  attention. 

The  cones,  which  are  mature  after  one,  two,  or  three  seasons, 
9 


58         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

may  be  gathered  in  the  winter,  as  the  scales  do  not  usually 
open,  to  allow  the  seeds  to  escape,  until  the  spring.  Most  of 
them,  when  perfectly  dry,  open  spontaneously,  and  allow  the 
seeds  to  be  shaken  out.  In  others  they  must  be  released  by 
exposure  to  the  sun  or  by  force,  either  by  cutting  open  the  cone 
with  a  sharp  instrument,  or  by  beating,  or  by  crushing  in  a 
bark-mill.  Two  winged  seeds  are  usually  found  above  each 
scale. 

The  best  time  for  sowing  the  seeds  is  early  in  spring,  as  soon 
as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground.  If  sown  in  autumn,  they  are 
liable  to  be  devoured  by  mice  and  squirrels.  If  a  few  trees 
are  to  be  provided  for  ornament  or  shade,  the  seeds  may  be 
sown  in  a  prepared  seed-bed  of  pulverized  earth,  and  loosely 
covered  to  the  depth  of  one-eighth  or  at  most  one-fourth  of  an 
inch.  The  bed  should  be  in  a  sheltered  situation,  and  the  surface 
should  be  protected  from  the  action  of  the  wind  and  sun  by 
loose  branches,  straw,  or  leaves.  The  soil  of  the  seed-bed  should 
be  loamy  or  sandy,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  seed-beds  of  most 
other  trees,  it  should  be  rich ;  as  the  thrift  of  the  future  tree 
depends  much  upon  the  vigor  of  the  first  shoot.  The  practice 
in  France  is  to  sow  them  in  somewhat  rich  bog  earth,  or  a  mix- 
ture of  this  with  sand.*  The  seeds  should  be  sown  in  rows  for 
the  convenience  of  keeping  the  plants  free  from  weeds.  They 
have  been  observed  to  come  up  in  from  thirty  to  fifty  days,  but, 
in  some  instances,  do  not  make  their  appearance  until  the  suc- 
ceeding spring  or  even  later,  j-  After  they  have  grown  two  years 
in  the  seed-bed,  they  may  be  transplanted  to  a  sheltered  and 
fertile  nursery,  where  they  should  remain  at  least  one  year 
before  being  removed  to  the  spot  where  they  are  to  stand. 

Such  is  the  course  to  be  pursued  when  it  is  an  object  to  have 
fine  trees  in  the  shortest  time.  But  when  poor,  thin,  rocky 
or  sandy  land  is  to  be  clothed  with  wood,  and  it  is  important 
to  save  the  time  and  expense  of  the  several  transplantations, 
the  seeds  may  be  sown  where  the  trees  are  intended  to  remain. 
They  must  be  sown  abundantly,  as  they  are  obnoxious  to  de- 

*  Le  Bon  Jardinier,  p.  978. 
f   Loudon's  Arboretum,  2132. 


I.  THE  PINES.  59 

struction  by  various  enemies.  On  a  rocky  surface,  they  may  be 
cast  into  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  or  beneath  the  thin  soil  which 
covers  them.  On  an  open  plain,  they  require  protection,  which 
may  be  found  in  various  low  bushes,  such  as  sweet  fern ;  or  if 
sown  on  a  waste,  sterile  land,  they  must  be  sown  with  the  seeds 
of  some  quick-growing  shrub,  or  tall  grass,  which  shall  protect 
them  for  two  or  three  years.  For  the  first  two  or  three  years, 
these  plants  are  of  slow  growth ;  but  after  the  fifth  they  grow 
very  rapidly;  and  continue,  in  favorable  situations,  to  make 
one  or  two  feet  annually,  until  they  have  reached  twenty  or 
thirty  feet,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  taller  species,  a  much  greater 
height.  The  root,  in  most  species,  penetrates  at  once,  in  the 
first  or  second  year,  to  the  depth  of  one  or  two  feet,  but  never 
to  a  much  greater  depth. 

The  evergreens  are  transplanted  with  less  facility  and  success 
than  most  deciduous  trees.  Those  intended  for  transplantation 
are,  therefore,  in  the  English  nurseries,  usually  kept  in  pots, 
whereby  they  are  prevented  from  throwing  down  a  long  root. 
All  the  pines  are,  however,  successfully  transplanted,  if  sufficient 
care  be  taken  not  to  injure  the  roots  nor  heads,  and  to  have  a 
pit  sufficiently  large  for  all  the  roots  to  be  fully  .spread,  and 
not  to  set  them  too  deep.  The  most  difficult  are  the  white  and 
pitch  pines.  To  ensure  success,  these  should  be  transplanted 
in  winter ;  the  pits  having  been  formed  and  the  plant  to  be 
moved  having  been  surrounded  by  a  circular  trench  in  the  pre- 
vious autumn.  In  this  way,  the  whole  of  the  roots,  with  the 
frozen  earth  adhering,  may  be  removed  in  a  single  ball,  and  set 
at  once  in  the  pit,  and  surrounded  by  loose  earth  kept  ready  for 
the  purpose. 

The  evergreens  have  been  divided  *  into  three  sections : — 

1.  Those  whose  fruit  is  a  true  cone,  with  numerous  imbricate 
scales,  like  the  fir  and  pine ; 

2.  Those  with  a  globular,  compound  fruit,  like  the  cypress 
and  arbor  vitae  ; 

3.  Those  with  a  solitary  fruit,  like  the  yew. 

*  By  L.  C.  Richard.     Annales  du  Museum,  XVI,  296. 


60  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

SECTION    FIRST. 

THE  PINE  AND  FIR  TRIBE.     ABIE  TIN JE.     Richard. 

Of  this  section  there  are  found  growing  in  Massachusetts,  1. 
The  White  Pine ;  2.  The  Red  or  Norway  Pine ;  3.  The  Pitch 
Pine;  4.  The  Hemlock  Spruce;  5.  The  Black  or  Double 
Spruce ;  6.  The  White  or  Single  Spruce ;  7.  The  Balsam  Fir ; 
8.  The  Double  Balsam  Fir  or  Fraser's  Fir ;  and  9.  The  Amer- 
ican Larch  or  Hacmatack. 

I.     1.  The  Pine.     Pbius.     L. 

The  true  pines  are  characterized  by  having  their  leaves  in  a 
sheath,  2,  3,  or  5  together ;  and  by  the  large  size  and  hardness 
of  the  cones.  Forty -two  species  are  described  by  Loudon  as 
having  been  introduced  into  England.  They  are  all  evergreen, 
generally  of  large  size,  and  eminently  useful  and  ornamental. 
Twenty-four  *  are  natives  of  North  America ;  of  which  three 
are  found  in  Massachusetts;  distinguished  by  the  number  of 
leaves  in  a  sheath ;  these  are  either  5,  on  the  White  Pine ;  3, 
on  the  Pitch  Pine  ;  or  2,  on  the  Red  Pine. 

I.     1.  Sp.  1.  The  White  Pine.     Pinus  Strobus.     L. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus ;  Plate  32. 

Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  145. 
Loudon  ;  Arboretum,  VIII,  Plate  329. 

This  tree  is  easily  distinguished  by  its  leaves  being  in  fives, 
by  its  very  long  cones  composed  of  loosely  arranged  scales, 
and,  when  young,  by  the  smoothness  and  delicate  light  green 
color  of  the  bark.  It  is  known  throughout  New  England  by  the 
name  of  white  pine,  which  is  given  it  on  account  of  the  white- 
ness of  the  wood.     In  England,  it  is  called  the  Weymouth  Pine. 

The  white  pine  is  the  tallest  and  most  stately  tree  of  our  for- 
ests.    It  rises  in  a  single  straight  column,  tapering  gradually 

*  Lambertiana,  strobus,  monticola,  leioph)ila,  Montezuma?,  radiata,  tuberculata, 
muricata,  Californiana,  Llaveana,  patula,  teocote,  australis,  Coulteri,  Sabiniana, 
ponderosa,  serotina,  rigida,  taeda,  resinosa,  pungens,  mitis,  inops,  Banksiana. 


I.     1.  THE  WHITE  PINE.  61 

often  to  the  height  of  100,  and  sometimes,  in  the  western  part  of 
the  State,  to  that  of  130  or  140  feet.  In  the  forest,  they  are 
found  with  a  shaft  of  a  hundred  feet,  of  arrowy  straightness, 
entirely  free  from  limbs.  Formerly  they  were  seen  much  taller ; 
for  the  largest  and  most  valuable  timber  trees  have  long  since  been 
cut  down.  Dr.  Dwight  informs  us,*  that  they  were  frequently 
250  feet  in  height  and  six  feet  in  diameter ;  and  he  mentions 
one  in  Lancaster,  N.  H.,  which  measured  264  feet.  Fifty  years 
ago,  several  trees  growing  on  rather  dry  land  in  Blandford, 
measured,  after  they  were  felled,  more  than  thirteen  rods  and 
a  half, — or  223  feet.  Many  large  trees  are  still  found  on  the 
Penobscot  and  its  branches.  In  the  summer  of  1841,  a  mast 
was  made  on  that  river,  which  measured,  after  being  hewn  to 
an  octagonal  shape,  90  feet  in  length,  36  inches  in  diameter  at 
the  but,  and  28  inches  at  the  top.  Many  masts  are  annually 
hewn  on  that  river,  from  70  to  90  feet  in  length.  There  is  so 
much  grandeur  in  these  magnificent  columns,  that  it  is  surpris- 
ing that  so  few  have  been  left.  There  would  be  little  danger 
of  their  being  prostrated  by  the  wind,  if  left  standing  when  the 
forest  is  cut  away  about  them,  as  their  leafy  branches  usually 
stand  out,  far  above  the  tops  of  the  trees  by  which  they  are 
surrounded,  and  they  are  thus  accustomed  to  bear  the  violence 
of  the  storms.  A  clump  of  old  white  pines  stands  in  perfect 
security,  near  the  church  in  Blandford,  on  one  of  the  most  ex- 
posed points  of  the  Green  Mountain  range.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  see  old  pines  standing,  deformed  by  the  loss  of  the  lead- 
ing shoot,  a  loss  from  which  they  never  recover,  unless  it  occurs 
when  the  tree  is  quite  young.  Rarely  two  or  more  leaders  are 
seen  going  up  together. f 

The  roots  of  the  white  pine,  even  in  the  old  trees  of  70  or  100 
feet  in  height,  rarely  penetrate  more  than  two  or  three  feet, 
taper  rapidly,  and  extend  12  or  15,  not  often  20  feet  on  every 

*  Travels.    Vol.  I,  p.  36. 

f  An  old  pine  in  the  depth  of  a  forest  is  often  interesting  from  the  variety  of  veg- 
etable life  which  it  exhibits, — covered  with  lichens ;  dotted  Lecideas  and  Lecanoras 
and  Verrucarias  closely  investing  the  bark  on  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk,  star-like 
Parmelias  spreading  over  them,  green  and  purple  mosses  in  the  crannies,  and 
tufts  of  Sticta,  Ramalina  and  Usnea  higher  up. 


62         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

side.  In  trees  of  not  over  25  or  30  feet,  the  roots  do  not  penetrate 
more  than  15  or  18  inches.  They  are  covered  with  a  reddish 
or  greyish,  sulphur-colored  bark,  broken  on  the  surface  into 
irregular  rectangular  scales.  The  wand-like  rootlets,  which 
are  few  in  number,  are  very  pliant  and  tough.  The  roots  in 
old  trees  swell  and  project  above  the  surface,  forming  natural 
buttresses  on  every  side,  for  the  support  of  the  trunk.  The  bark 
on  trees  less  than  fifteen  inches  in  diameter  is  very  smooth,  of  a 
reddish  bottle-green,  covered,  in  summer,  with  an  ashy  or 
pearly  gloss.  On  old  trunks,  it  is  less  rough  than  that  of  any 
other  pine.  It  is  cleft  by  superficial  vertical  clefts  into  long 
plates  two  or  three  inches  wide,  which  become  more  rough  on 
the  older  trees,  but  do  not  scale  off.  The  branches  are  in  whorls 
or  regular  stages  of  about  five  at  each  stage,  tending  slightly 
upwards  when  young,  but  in  old  trees  horizontal.  In  the  for- 
ests all  but  the  upper  branches  decay  and  disappear,  and  these, 
stretching  out  over  the  tops  of  the  other  trees,  are  conspicuous, 
and  help  to  distinguish  the  white  pines  as  far  as  they  can  be 
seen.  The  smaller  branches  are  marked  with  spiral  lines  of  the 
cicatrices  of  the  fallen  leaves.  A  single  large  bud,  encircled  by 
about  five  smaller  ones,  terminates  each  branch.  The  leaves 
are  in  fives,  of  a  soft  bluish  green,  slender,  and  from  three  to 
five  inches  long,  arranged  spirally  in  long  tufts  at  the  ends  of 
all  the  branches,  and  giving  great  beauty  to  the  young  trees. 

On  the  extremity  of  the  newly  opened  buds,  on  the  ends  of 
the  uppermost  branches,  are  found  the  fertile  flowers  in  erect 
cones,  which,  in  June,  at  the  time  of  the  maturity  of  the  stami- 
nate  cone,  are  3-10ths  of  an  inch  long,  and  half  as  broad,  on 
scaly  footstalks,  7-10ths  of  an  inch  long.  These  cones  are 
made  up  of  small,  broad,  fleshy  scales,  imbricately  arranged  in 
spirals.  Outside  the  base  of  each  is  a  thin,  membranous,  ragged 
scale,  and  within,  near  the  base,  two  oblique  openings,  marked 
by  a  slight  projection.  These  lead  to  cavities  containing  the 
ovule  or  future  seed.  There  are  neither  styles  nor  stigmas, 
and  the  naked  ovule  is  supposed  to  be  fecundated  by  the 
fertilizing  pollen  coming  directly  in  contact  with  it.  At  the 
end  of  one  season,  the  cones  are  two  or  three  inches  long,  of  a 
fresh  green,  reflexed,  on  stout  footstalks.     In  the  succeeding 


I.     1.  THE  WHITE  PINE.  03 

autumn,  they  are  mature,  when  they  are  from  four  to  six  inches 
long. 

The  male  flowers  are  in  brown  cones,  3-8ths  of  an  inch  long 
by  1-Sth  broad,  on  short  stalks,  surrounded  by  scales,  occupy- 
ing, to  the  number  of  twenty  or  more,  half  an  inch  of  the  base 
of  some  of  the  new  shoots  on  the  extremities  of  the  lower 
branches.  The  pollen  is  contained  in  numerous,  anther-like 
double  sacks,  opening  on  each  side  from  top  to  bottom. 

The  geographical  range  of  the  white  pine  is  from  the  Sas- 
katchewan, in  about  54°  north,  to  Georgia,  where  it  is  found 
only  on  the  ridges  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains ;  and  from  Nova 
Scotia  to  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  and  beyond,  from  the  sources 
of  the  Columbia  to  Mount  Hood.  It  occurs  in  every  part  of 
New  England ;  growing  in  every  variety  of  soil,  but  flourishing 
best  in  a  deep,  moist  soil  of  loamy  sand. 

The  white  pines  receive  different  names,  according  to  their 
mode  of  growth  and  the  appearance  of  the  wood.  When  grow- 
ing densely  in  deep  and  damp  old  forests,  with  only  a  few 
branches  near  the  top,  the  slowly-grown  wood  is  perfectly  clear 
and  soft,  destitute  of  resin,  and  almost  without  sap-wood,  and 
has  a  yellowish  color,  like  the  flesh  of  the  pumpkin.  It  is  then 
called  pumpkin  pine.  Standing  nearly  by  itself,  or  surrounded 
by  deciduous  trees,  especially  on  the  boundaries  between  high 
lands  and  swamps,  it  grows  rapidly,  is  usually  full  of  knots 
and  resin,  has  much  sap-wood,  and  thence  receives  the  name  of 
sapling  pine.  Bull  sapling  resembles  the  pumpkin  pine  in  all 
respects  save  the  color  of  the  wood,  which  is  a  clear  white. 
These  names  are  little  used,  except  in  Maine,  and  by  persons 
who  import  wood  from  that  State. 

The  roots  of  the  white  pine  are  almost  incorruptible.  In 
clearing  up  new  lands,  where  the  trees  have  been  felled  or 
blown  down,  the  stumps  with  the  roots  are  often  taken  up  and 
used  to  make  a  fence  by  setting  the  under  surface  of  the  roots, 
to  form  the  outside,  towards  the  road.  Fences  so  made,  exhibit, 
after  a  hundred  years,  few  signs  of  decay. 

The  branches,  taken  from  the  tree  when  they  are  beginning 
to  die,  form  somewhat  durable  stakes ;  while  the  trunks  of  small 
trees  used  in  this  way  decay  very  rapidly. 


64         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  qualities  of  the  wood  are  lightness,  softness,  and  dura- 
bility. Its  specific  gravity,  according  to  Mr.  Bull,  is  .418,  being 
less  than  that  of  any  tree  except  the  Lombardy  Poplar.  It  is 
wrought  with  perfect  ease,  cutting  freely  in  every  direction. 
When  kept  dry,  or  exposed  to  the  air,  above  the  influence  of 
the  ground,  it  lasts  for  a  great  number  of  years;  and  is  not 
split  or  much  shrunk  or  warped  by  the  sun ;  but  it  is  subject 
to  rapid  decay  when  placed  near  the  ground.  Its  defect  is  its 
want  of  strength. 

The  uses  of  the  wood  of  the  white  pine  are  most  important 
and  numerous.  As  it  forms  timber  and  boards  of  a  greater 
size  than  any  other  soft -wooded  tree,  and  is  lighter  and  more 
free  from  knots,  it  is  employed,  in  preference,  for  masts  of 
ships,  for  the  large  beams,  posts  and  covering  of  wooden  build- 
ings, and  for  the  frame- work  of  houses,  barns  and  bridges,  as 
well  as  for  clap-boards,  and  sometimes  for  shingles.  The  clear- 
ness, softness  and  beauty  of  this  wood,  recommend  it  for  the 
panels  and  frames  of  doors,  for  wainscoting,  for  the  frames  of 
windows,  for  cornices  and  mouldings,  and  for  all  the  uses  of 
the  joiner.  As  it  receives  paint  perfectly,  it  is  employed  for 
floors  which  are  to  be  painted.  For  such  as  are  exposed  to 
much  wear,  as  those  of  kitchens  and  back  entries  and  stairs, 
the  woods  of  the  pitch  pine  and  southern  pine  are  preferred, 
on  account  of  their  superior  hardness. 

Every  thing  made  of  white  pine  is  usually  painted.  Doors, 
panels,  and  tables  of  this  wood  are  sometimes  only  varnished, 
so  as  to  exhibit  the  wood  itself.  In  this  state,  it  gradually  takes 
a  yellowish  or  light  reddish  color,  and  has  considerable  beauty. 
Stained  and  varnished,  it  is  a  beautiful  material  for  wainscoting, 
window  frames,  and  the  other  internal  finishing  of  a  house. 

It  is  excellent  for  the  carver  in  wood,  and  is  used  for  the  figure- 
heads of  vessels  ;  and,  as  it  takes  gilding  well,  it  is  preferred  for 
the  frames  of  looking-glasses  and  pictures.  In  all  the  ways  in 
which  it  can  be  used  as  fuel,  it  is  of  little  value,  though  it  burns 
freely  when  dry,  and  is  much  used  for  kindling. 

In  consequence  of  these  numerous  uses,  it  is  every  year  be- 
coming more  scarce.  The  exportation  from  the  growth  of  this 
State  has  almost  ceased,  and  from  New  Hampshire  and  the 


I.     1.  THE  WHITE  PINE.  65 

southern  parts  of  Maine  it  has  much  diminished,  and  the  lum- 
ber has  become  of  inferior  quality.  From  the  Penobscot  and 
other  great  rivers  in  the  northern  parts  of  that  State,  the  expor- 
tation is  still  immense;  but  the  lumberers  have  to  go  every  year 
to  a  greater  distance  from  the  great  water-courses,  and  to  ascend 
smaller  streams  and  more  remote  lakes.  The  same  thing  is 
happening  in  New  York;  and  the  day  is  evidently  not  far 
distant,  when  the  inhabitants  of  New  England  even,  will  have 
to  depend  on  Canada  for  this  wood,  unless  measures  are  taken 
to  restore  the  pine  forests  on  those  millions  of  acres  which  are 
suitable  for  no  other  use,  while  they  are  admirably  adapted  to 
the  production  of  various  kinds  of  pine. 

The  white  pine  is  a  tree  of  rapid  growth.  Where  it  has  been 
cultivated,  in  England  and  France,  it  has  been  found  to  increase 
in  height  at  the  rate  of  from  fifteen  inches  to  three  feet,  each 
year,  for  fifty  or  sixty  years.  A  tree  near  Paris,  thirty  years 
planted,  is  eighty  feet  high,  with  a  diameter  of  three  feet.  By 
observing  the  annual  stages  of  limbs,  it  may  be  seen,  that  in 
many  parts  of  this  State,  it  grows  in  height  three  or  four  feet  a 
year,  and  sometimes  more.  In  Dalton,  I  measured  an  old  white 
pine,  which  was  more  than  100  feet  high,  and  found  its  circum- 
ference at  the  ground  twelve  feet  eight  inches,  and  at  three  feet, 
ten  feet  nine  inches. 

In  1809  or  '10  a  belt  of  pines  and  other  trees  was  planted  on 
two  sides  of  the  Botanic  Garden  in  Cambridge,  to  protect  it 
from  the  northwest  winds.  In  the  winter  of  1S41  and  '2,  when 
they  had  been  growing  thirty-one  years,  many  of  them  were 
carefully  measured  by  myself,  with  the  assistance  of  the  skilful 
and  intelligent  gardener,  Mr.  Carter.  Ten  of  the  white  pines 
exhibited  an  average  of  twenty  inches  diameter  at  the  ground, 
showing  an  annual  growth  of  nearly  two-thirds  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  The  two  largest  measured  five  feet  seven  inches  in 
circumference  at  the  ground,  and  four  feet  eight  inches  at  the 
height  of  three  feet.  The  average  diameter  at  three  feet  was 
sixteen  inches  and  one-half,  and  at  five  feet,  more  than  fifteen 
and  one-half  inches.  Rev.  J.  L.  Russell  gives  me  an  account  of  a 
white  pine  which  grew  in  a  rocky  swamp  in  Hingham,  which, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years,  gave  seven  feet  circumference 
10  ' 


66         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

at  the  but,  and  a  height  from  root  to  top  of  sixty -two  feet  six 
inches,  having  thus  grown  almost  an  inch  in  diameter  and  two 
feet  in  height  annually. 

I.     1.  Sp.  2.     The  Pitch  Pine.     Pinus  rigida.     L. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus,  Plate  16. 

Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  plate  143. 

Loudon;  Arboretum,  VIII,  beautifully,  plate  326. 

This  tree  is  distinguished  by  its  leaves  being  in  threes,  by  the 
rigidity  and  sharpness  of  the  scales  of  its  cones,  by  the  rough- 
ness of  its  bark,  and  by  the  denseness  of  the  brushes  of  its  stiff, 
crowded  leaves.  It  has  not  great  beauty,  but  it  produces  an 
agreeable  contrast,  by  the  deep  green  of  its  foliage,  with  the 
lighter  colors  of  the  deciduous  trees ;  and  there  is  an  irregularity 
about  it,  which  often  gives  a  single  tree  a  picturesque  appear- 
ance when  seen  at  a  distance.  It  is  free  from  the  stiffness  of 
most  of  the  other  pines,  and  a  hill  clothed  with  it  is  a  desirable 
addition  to  a  prospect. 

The  pitch  pine  is  commonly  forty  or  fifty  feet  high,  and  one 
or  two  feet  in  diameter  at  base.  In  the  most  favorable  situa- 
tions in  which  it  occurs,  which  are  sands  mixed  with  loam,  and 
plentifully  supplied  with  moisture,  it  sometimes  attains  the 
height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet,  and  even  more,  with  a  diame- 
ter of  nearly  three  feet.  Such  trees  are  now  very  rare.  About 
the  ponds  in  Plymouth,  where  these  pines  rise  considerably 
above  the  uniform  growth  of  oaks,  they  must  be  seventy  feet 
high,  and  I  found  the  average  size  of  several  of  the  largest  to  be 
five  feet  and  seven  inches  in  circumference,  at  three  feet  from  the 
ground.  In  other  parts  of  the  lower  counties,  I  have  found  the 
largest  sometimes  over  six  feet.  In  a  single  instance,  the  cir- 
cumference was  six  feet  seven  inches.* 

On  the  hills  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  State,  they  are 

*  One  which  I  measured  in  Lyman,  York  County,  Maine,  was  eight  feet  six 
inches  in  circumference  at  the  ground,  seven  feet  six  inches  at  three  and  one-half 
feet  above,  and,  by  the  estimation  of  a  friend  who  was  experienced  in  trees, 
ninety  feet  high.  Several  measured  in  Chester,  N.  H.,  were  over  seven  feet  in 
girth  at  the  ground,  and  one  was  seven  feet  at  three  feet  from  the  surface,  and 
eighty  feet  high. 


I.     1.  THE  PITCH  PINE.  67 

still  found  growing  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  feet ;  and  men 
are  living  in  Massachusetts  and  Maine,  who  remember  that  it 
was  not  uncommon  to  find  them  of  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in 
height  and  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter. 

Almost  every  where,  however,  the  pitch  pines  form  low 
woods,  occupying,  together  with  thel  ittle  gray  birch,  tracts  of 
sterile  land  where  few  other  trees  would  thrive.  The  edges  and 
openings  among  these  trees  are  tenanted  by  the  low,  tender 
blueberry,  whose  abundant  fruit  invites,  at  the  season  of  its  ma- 
turity, immense  flocks  of  wild  pigeons.  But  at  other  seasons, 
nothing  can  be  stiller  and  more  solemn  than  these  forests.  The 
hermit  thrush  loves  to  sit  in  the  top  of  a  pine  and  charm  the 
woods  with  his  solitary  sweet  notes,  and  when  he  is  silent,  a 
person  sitting  on  the  fragrant  decaying  leaves  or  soft  moss,  at 
its  foot,  may  listen  to  the  wind  singing  in  its  branches.  The 
"  going  of  the  wind  "  among  the  leaves  of  the  pine,  is  a  peculiar 
sound.  One  accustomed  to  the  woods  easily  distinguishes  it 
from  every  other  sound ;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  believe  that  a 
practised  ear  might  distinguish  every  particular  tree,  without 
the  aid  of  sight,  by  the  noise  of  the  wind  in  its  foliage. 

The  root  of  the  pitch  pine  penetrates  almost  at  once  to  the 
depth  of  one  or  two  feet,  and  hence  the  difficulty  of  transplant- 
ing the  young  trees.  But  the  roots  of  those  forty  or  sixty  feet 
high,  which  have  been  prostrated  by  the  wind,  are  seldom 
found  more  than  two  feet  below  the  surface.  The  horizontal 
ones  are  short,  and  are  covered  with  a  rough  bark  which  comes 
off  in  flakes. 

The  trunk  in  dense  woods  is  erect ;  in  more  open  situations, 
it  is  often  tortuous  or  angled.  In  the  former  case,  where  the 
limbs  have  perished  at  an  early  stage  of  the  tree's  growth,  and 
its  increase  has  depended  upon  a  few  branches  near  the  top, 
the  trunk  is  entirely  without  branches  to  a  great  height,  and 
the  wood  is  clear,  and  soft,  free  from  knots,  and  almost  free 
from  resin,  and,  from  the  slow  growth,  the  bark  is  less  rough 
than  usual.  Such  trees  are  called  yellow  pines,  and  are  sup- 
posed by  lumber-men  to  be  of  a  different  species. 

The  bark  of  the  trunk  is  excessively  rough,  deeply  cleft,  and 
very  dark  colored,  whence  the  tree  is  sometimes  called  black 


68  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

pine.  The  young  branches  seem  to  have  no  true  bark,  but  to 
be  covered  by  the  decurrent  foot  of  the  shrivelled  leaf,  from 
which  grows  the  sheath  of  the  bundles  of  leaves.  The  surface  of 
every  part  of  the  tree  is  thus  more  rough  than  that  of  any  other 
tree  of  the  forest.     But  it  is  less  liable  to  be  covered  by  lichens.* 

The  branches  are  in  imperfect  whorls  of  three  or  more.  So 
many  of  the  branches  perish,  that  this  circumstance  is  often  not 
visible  in  a  solitary  tree,  but,  to  one  examining  a  large  number, 
it  is  immediately  obvious.  They  usually  tend  upwards  irreg- 
ularly at  a  considerable  angle,  forming  large  deep  masses  of 
foliage,  and  never,  except  in  very  old  trees,  have  the  horizontal 
growth  common  to  most  other  pines.  As  the  trees  usually  grow 
at  some  distance  apart,  on  extremely  poor  soil,  they  are  almost 
uniformly  much  branched,  and  the  branches  are  irregular,  and 
larger  than  in  other  trees  of  this  family.  The  leaves  are  in 
threes,  with  a  callous  point,  flattish,  rounded  on  the  external 
side  and  angled  within,  and  from  two  to  five  or  six  inches  long ; 
arranged  in  spirals  and  forming  a  stiff  brush  at  the  ends  of  the 
branches.  The  buds,  which  are  long  and  slender,  are  covered 
with  resin;  they  are  found  only  at  the  extremities,  where  a 
single  large  bud  is  encircled  by  three  or  more  smaller  ones. 

The  sterile  flowers  are  in  catkins,  half  an  inch  or  more  long, 
in  a  few  spirals  around  the  base  of  the  recent  shoot,  where  they 
take  the  place  of  bundles  of  leaves.  The  anthers  have  two 
cells,  from  which  is  discharged  a  great  quantity  of  sulphur- 
colored  pollen.  The  fertile  flowers  are  in  cones,  which  are 
either  solitary  or  two  or  more  together,  near  the  extremity  of 
the  new  shoot.  At  the  period  of  flowering,  in  May  or  June, 
they  are  one-third  of  an  inch  long,  on  a  stout  footstalk  covered 
with  thin  reddish  scales.  At  this  period  both  male  and  female 
flowers  have  great  beauty.  At  the  end  of  one  season,  the  cones 
are  not  apparently  changed  in  size.  At  the  end  of  the  second, 
they  are  sometimes  fully,  sometimes  half  grown.  When  ma- 
ture, which  is  usually  at  the  end  of  the  second  autumn,  although 
sometimes  not  till  the  third,  they  are  of  a  conical  shape,  from 


*  A  few  Usneas  and  large  Stictas,  and  occasionally  the  more  vigorous  Parmelias, 
find  place  on  the  bark. 


I.     1.  THE  PITCH  PINE.  69 

two  to  three  inches  long,  and  each  scale  terminated  in  a  short, 
acute,  stiff  spine.  Michaux  observed  that,  on  solitary  stocks 
exposed  to  the  winds,  the  cones  are  constantly  found  in  groups 
of  four,  five  or  more,  and  that  they  then  remain  closed  for  sev- 
eral years. 

The  pitch  pine  is  found  from  the  Penobscot  River  in  Maine 
to  the  mountains  of  Carolina.  On  its  northern  borders  it  at- 
tains a  height  of  only  twelve  or  fifteen  feet;  on  its  southern,  it  is 
a  large  tree.  The  wood  of  the  pitch  pine  is  hard  and  firm,  and 
remarkable,  except  in  the  variety  above-mentioned,  for  the 
quantity  of  resin  it  contains.  This  is  much  more  abundant  in 
the  branches  than  in  the  trunk,  whence  the  boards  and  other 
lumber  of  this  wood  are  usually  full  of  pitch  knots.  When  a 
tree  stands  some  time  after  its  vigorous  growth  has  ceased,  the 
whole  heart-wood,  and  even  the  whole  wood,  is  filled  with  resin, 
and  converted  into  what  is  called  pitch  wood.  This  is  so  incor- 
ruptible, that  it  is  often  dug  up  entire  in  old  pine  woods,  where 
it  has  been  exposed  for  scores  of  years  to  alternations  of  moisture 
and  dryness.  The  proportion  of  sap-wood  to  heart- wood  varies 
in  different  situations.  In  a  tree  of  fifty  years'  growth,  the  ex- 
terior twenty-five  circles  may  be  sometimes  found  of  sap-wood. 

The  pitch  pine  is  of  far  more  value  than  it  has  usually  been 
considered.  The  variety  called  yellow  pine  *  is  an  excellent 
substitute  for  white  pine  for  any  purpose  to  which  the  latter 
may  be  applied.  In  Plymouth  County,  vessels  have  been  made, 
in  many  instances,  for  a  considerable  time  past,  almost  en- 
tirely of  pitch  pine.  For  the  upper  floor,  for  the  lower  deck, 
and  for  the  beams,  the  best  oak  only  is  superior.  Its  principal 
defect,  as  a  material  for  ship-building,  is  the  comparatively 
insecure  hold  it  gives  to  spikes;  making  it  necessary  to  substi- 
tute, at  certain  points,  pieces  of  oak  timber.  It  is  an  excellent 
material  for  floors,  not  yielding  to  the  Southern  pine  in  dura- 
bility and  surpassing  it  in  beauty.  For  water-wheels,  it  is 
preferred  on  account  of  its  durability  when  exposed  to  alterna- 


*  This  name  is  also  applied  to  the  Southern  yellow  pine,  Pinus  australis,  and  some- 
times to  the  Norway  or  red  pine,  Pinus  resinosa,  with  which  there  is  no  danger  that 
any  variety  of  pitch  pine  should  be  confounded  by  a  botanist. 


70  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tions  of  wet  and  dry.  For  the  same  reason,  it  is  selected  for 
pumps,  particularly  ships'  pumps,  and  also  for  aqueduct  pipes, 
for  which  purposes  pieces  are  chosen  with  little  heart-wood.  It 
is  also  an  excellent  material  for  the  sills  of  houses  and  barns, 
and  for  the  sleepers  of  rail-roads  and  the  stringers  of  bridges, 
and  for  the  frame  of  mills,  and  other  structures  in  damp  situa- 
tions. It  has  also  been  made  into  staves  for  nail-casks.  It  is 
preferred  to  any  other  wood  in  the  Northern  States  as  fuel  for 
steam-engines,  and  vast  quantities  of  it  are  also  consumed  for 
the  supply  of  families.  Formerly,  tar  and  lampblack  were 
obtained  from  it.  Now,  from  its  increased  value  and  scarcity, 
this  use  is  rarely  made  of  it. 

As  the  pitch  pine  grows  commonly  on  the  most  barren  sands, 
its  growth  is  not  rapid.  On  sandy  plains,  too  poor  for  profit- 
able cultivation,  and  where  only  a  single  scanty  crop  of  winter 
rye  could  be  raised,  far  too  small  to  repay  the  labor  employed 
in  its  cultivation,  I  have  observed  the  pitch  pines  gradually 
encroaching  on  the  deserted  fields,  and  making  an  average  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  height  in  ten  years.  From  the  ex- 
amination of  hundreds  of  trees  which  have  been  felled  and  split, 
on  the  same  kind  of  land,  and  which  were  generally  sixty  or 
seventy  years  old,  it  appeared,  that  for  the  first  sixteen  to 
twenty-five  years,  the  trees  had  increased  in  diameter  at  the 
rate  of  from  two-ninths  to  two-fifths  of  an  inch  a  year.  After 
the  twenty -fifth,  the  circles  of  growth  were  uniformly  narrower, 
there  being  rarely  so  few  as  ten  to  an  inch,  and  often  twelve  or 
thirteen.  It  would  thus  appear,  that  on  the  very  poorest  land, 
this  tree,  when  self-planted,  increases  at  the  rate  of  an  inch  in 
diameter  in  three  or  four  years,  for  the  first  twenty-five  years, 
and  after  that  at  the  rate  of  one  in  five  or  six.  In  between  fifty 
and  sixty  years,  then,  worthless  barren  sands  may  be  covered 
with  pines  of  a  foot  in  diameter  and  forty  or  fifty  feet  high. 

My  friend,  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Russell,  lately  of  Chelmsford,  has 
given  me  some  very  valuable  facts  upon  this  point.  He  says, 
in  a  letter  dated  December,  1839,  "  Twenty  years  ago,  in  sow- 
ing a  sandy  plain  with  rye,  it  was  necessary  to  tear  up  a  great 
many  young  pitch  pines.  This  was  near  the  middle  of  May. 
The  young  trees,  averaging  three  feet  in  height,  were  thrown 


I.     1.  THE  PITCH  PINE.  71 

into  a  cart  and  carried  to  an  abandoned  tract  of  ground,  com- 
pletely inundated  with  drift  sand,  and  capable  of  producing 
merely  the  most  useless  weeds.  With  great  haste  the  trees 
were  planted  in  this  desert,  amid  the  merriment  and  derision 
of  all  who  witnessed  what  was  considered  so  fruitless  an  under- 
taking. But  the  experiment  was  perfectly  successful,  and  in 
four  straight  lines  stand  at  this  moment  ninety- seven  pines,  of 
which  number  one,  and  the  finest,  is  a  white  pine,  all  the  rest 
being  pitch  pines.  They  have  attained  the  height  of  twenty  or 
more  feet,  and  the  measures  of  the  circumference  of  several 
are  appended,  as  follows : — the  white  pine,  two  feet  two  inches ; 
pitch  pine,  two  feet  four  inches ;  two  feet  six  inches ;  two  feet 
six  and  one-half  inches ;  two  feet  nine  inches ;  two  feet  ten 
inches.  The  average  circumference  may  be  estimated  at  one 
foot  nine  inches.  Several  young  trees  are  springing  up  beneath 
this  little  artificial  forest,  and  the  original  plantation,  beginning 
to  produce  seed,  will  soon  cause  a  perceptible  difference  in  the 
nature  of  the  plain." 

These  plants  were  probably  four  or  five  years  old  when  trans- 
planted. We  thus  find  them  of  a  diameter  of  from  seven  to 
ten  or  eleven  inches,  or  an  average  of  seven  for  all,  in  about 
twenty-five  years.  Mr.  Russell  recommends  "  to  transplant 
when  the  new  shoot  or  growth  is  about  half  an  inch  in  length." 

Young  trees  in  every  stage  of  growth  may  be  found  along  the 
borders  of  pine  woods,  particularly  on  the  edges  of  ponds  and 
the  sandy  banks  of  streams.  In  the  first  year,  they  rarely  ex- 
ceed three  or  four  inches  in  height ;  in  the  second,  they  some- 
what more  than  double  their  growth,  but  still  look  very  slender 
and  delicate ;  in  the  third  year,  they  begin  to  assume  some  ap- 
pearance of  vigor,  and  often  reach  the  height  of  eighteen  inches 
or  two  feet.  For  the  first  two  or  three  years  the  leaves  are 
single ;  afterwards  they  appear  in  bundles  from  the  axil  of  the 
single  leaves.  After  the  third  year,  the  growth  in  favorable 
situations  is  rapid,  sometimes  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  feet  a 
year.     The  best  age  for  transplanting  is  two  or  three  years. 

The  pitch  pine  has  the  great  advantage  of  not  being  injuri- 
ously, at  least  not  fatally,  affected  by  salt  water.  Michaux 
observed  it  growing  where  the  ground  was  overflowed  by  the 


72         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

spring  tides ;  and  in  many  parts  of  this  State  it  is  found  nearer 
to  the  sea  than  any  other  pine.  It  is  thus  adapted,  in  every 
respect,  to  be  planted  on  the  extensive  sands  on  Cape  Cod,  Nan- 
tucket, and  in  some  other  parts,  which  are  now  not  only  utterly 
barren  and  unproductive,  but,  by  being  blown  about  by  the 
winds,  are  a  serious  inconvenience  to  the  habitations  of  man, 
and  threaten  to  overwhelm  the  cultivated  spots  in  their  vicinity. 
On  the  western  coasts  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  particularly 
in  Holland,  and  in  Gascony  in  France,  are  similar  and  more 
extensive  wastes  of  drifting  sand,  called  dunes  or  downs,  which, 
from  time  immemorial,  had  been  barren.  These  were  tossed 
about  by  the  winds,  like  the  waves  of  the  sea,  the  whole  aspect 
of  the  desert  being  sometimes  changed  by  a  storm,  valleys  tak- 
ing the  place  of  hills,  and  hills  of  valleys.  Fields,  villages  and 
even  forests,  had  been  overwhelmed  by  it,  and  it  threatened  to 
extend  itself  continually  inland.  "  To  obviate  this  evil,"  says 
Decandolle,*  from  whom  I  borrow  the  account,  "  the  Dutch  had 
for  a  long  time  been  in  the  habit  of  sowing  these  downs  with 
beach  grass,  (Arundo  arenaria,  L.),  that  its  long  matting  roots 
might  fix  the  sand.  But  if  this  takes  from  the  sand  its  power 
of  injuring,  it  leaves  it  wholly  useless.  On  seeing  the  downs  of 
Holland,  I  was  struck  with  this  defect,  and  pointed  out  the 
advantages  of  planting  trees  there.  I  was  not  then  aware  that 
the  engineer  Bremontier  had,  as  early  as  1789,  made  trial  of 
this  very  expedient  on  the  downs  of  Gascony.  Its  success  has 
since  been  made  public,  and  I  have  myself  had  the  pleasure 
of  witnessing  it,  which  I  did  with  unaffected  admiration.  The 
process  of  Bremontier  is  remarkable  for  its  simplicity.  He 
sows,  in  the  loosest  and  dryest  sand,  the  seeds  of  broom, 
(Genista  scopa?'ia,)  with  those  of  the  maritime  pine,f  (Pinus 
maritima) ;  and  covers  the  surface  sown,  with  branches  taken 
from  the  nearest  pine  forest.  The  object  of  the  branches  is  to 
arrest  the  sand  for  a  time,  and  keep  it  from  blowing  away. 
The  plants  of  the  broom  spring  up  first,  and  by  their  rapid 
growth,  serve  to  retain  the  sand  in  its  place  and  to  shelter  the 


*  Physiologie  Vegetale,  p.  1236,  Vol.  III. 

f   This  is  a  variety  of  the  cluster  pine,  (Pinus  pinaster.) 


I.     1.  THE  PITCH  PINE.  73 

young  pines.  These  continue  to  grow  for  seven  or  eight  years 
under  the  shelter  of  the  broom,  the  leaves  of  which  annually 
mingle  with  the  soil  and  fertilize  it.  After  this  period,  the  pines 
over- top  the  broom  and  often  kill  it  by  their  shade.  At  the  age 
of  ten  or  twelve  years,  they  begin  to  thin  the  forest,  to  make  tar, 
and  to  get  branches  for  continuing  the  process  of  sowing.  In 
about  twenty  years,  they  begin  to  cut  down  the  trees  to  extract 
\  the  resin.  These  forests,  situated  on  the  downs  along  the  sea, 
protect,  from  the  continual  action  of  the  west  wind,  the  whole 
space  situated  behind  them,  and  thus,  at  the  same  time  that 
they  themselves  furnish  an  important  product,  they  secure  those 
of  the  rest  of  the  country." 

He  ends  the  account  by  saying,  that  he  has  herborized  for  a 
whole  day  in  the  forests  sown  by  Bremontier  on  sand  com- 
pletely arid,  and  on  which,  before  him,  scarce  a  trace  of  vege- 
tation could  be  seen. 

By  pursuing,  on  the  waste  sands  in  many  parts  of  this  State, 
the  course  which  has  been  so  successful  in  France,  forests  for 
fuel  and  tar  and  lampblack,  and  perhaps  for  ship  timber,  may 
be  formed  on  land  which  is  now  not  only  utterly  valueless  but 
in  many  places  inconvenient  and  dangerous.  The  plant  to  be 
selected  to  protect  the  young  pine  may  be  the  sweet  fern, 
(Comptonia),  or  perhaps  the  very  broom  which  has  been  used 
in  France,  as  its  seed  could  be  easily  imported,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  it  would  grow  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  as 
well  as  on  the  other. 

Another  use  to  be  made  of  the  pitch  pine,  is  one  to  which  the 
Scotch  pine,  which  it  much  resembles,  is  put  in  England,  that 
of  serving  as  nurse  to  tender  deciduous  trees. 

There  is  a  circumstance  about  the  pitch  pine  which  I  have 
never  observed  in  any  other  tree  of  this  family,  and  believe  to  be 
peculiar.  Its  stump  throws  up  sprouts  the  spring  after  the  stem 
has  been  felled.  These  continue  to  flourish,  with  apparent 
vigor,  for  several  years,  but  I  have  never  seen  them  attain  any 
considerable  height.  The  fallen  trunk  itself  throws  out  sprouts 
in  the  succeeding  summer ;  and  the  bundles  of  leaves  of  both 
are  remarkable  for  issuing  from  the  axil  of  a  single  leaf,  in  the 
same  manner  as  is  observed  in  the  young  plant. 
11 


74  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


I.     1.  Sp.  3.  The  Red  or  Norway  Pine.     P.  resinosa.     Aiton. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus,  Plate  13. 

Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  134. 

The  Red  or  Norway  pine  has  an  erect  trunk,  taller  and  more 
slender  than  that  of  the  pitch  pine,  which  it  most  nearly  resem- 
bles. The  bark,  which  is  much  less  rough,  is  in  rather  broad 
scales  of  a  reddish  color.  The  long  leaves  are  in  twos,  and  the  ' 
cones  are  free  from  the  bristling,  rigid,  sharp  points,  which  dis- 
tinguish those  of  the  pitch  pine.  It  may  also  be  distinguished 
at  a  distance  by  the  greater  size  and  length  of  the  terminal 
brushes  of  leaves. 

This  tree  is  known  in  New  England  by  the  name  of  the  Nor- 
way pine,  although  it  is  entirely  different  from  the  tree  so 
called  in  Europe,  which  is  a  kind  of  spruce.  On  this  account 
Michaux  *  proposes  to  call  it  the  Red  pine,  which  name,  he 
says,  is  given  it  by  the  English  settlers  in  Canada.  According 
to  the  elder  Michaux,  it  is  found  from  4S°  north,  as  far  south  as 
Wilkesbarre,  in  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Douglas  found  it  in  north- 
west America,  along  with  Lambert's  pine.  It  is  nowhere 
abundant  in  Massachusetts,  but  is  found,  as  is  usually  the  case 
elsewhere,  in  little  detached  clumps,  in  various  parts  of  the 
State.  A  grove  of  about  twenty  trees,  in  the  edge  of  Newton, 
on  a  cross  road  leading  from  Brookline  to  the  Lower  Falls,  is 
the  only  instance  in  which  it  occurs  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  Boston.  It  is  also  found,  as  I  am  told  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Russell,  forming  a  small  wood  in  the  town  of  Chelmsford. 

In  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  where  it  is  often  seen  ming- 
ling with  the  forests  of  white  or  of  pitch  pine,  it  is  remarkable 
for  its  tall  trunk  sometimes  eighty  feet  in  height,  free  from 
branches,  and  of  nearly  a  uniform  size  for  forty  or  fifty  feet  or 
more,  and  its  smooth  reddish  bark. 

The  branches  are  in  distinct  whorls,  more  regular  than  those 
of  the  pitch  pine,  horizontal  or  inclining  first  downwards  and 
curving  slightly  upwards  towards  the  extremities.  The  branch- 
lets  are  stout  and  covered  with  a  thick  false  bark,  formed  of 

*  Sylva,  III,  112. 


I.     1.  THE  RED  OR  NORWAY  PINE.  75 

the  foot  of  the  scales  from  which  issue  the  bundles  of  leaves, 
running  down  along  the  stem. 

The  leaves  are  in  twos,  of  a  semi-cylindrical  shape,  six  or 
eight  inches  long,  enclosed  at  base  in  very  long  membranous 
sheaths,  arranged  in  close  spiral  lines,  and  forming  large  con- 
spicuous tufts  or  brushes  at  the  end  of  the  branchlets.  These 
showy  tufts,  which  are  of  a  dark  green,  upon  a  stem  of  a  hand- 
some shape  and  of  vigorous  growth,  render  the  young  tree  a 
beautiful  object. 

The  sterile  or  male  catkins  are  at  the  base,  rarely  near  the 
end,  of  the  recent  shoots,  usually  on  the  lower  limbs,  occupying 
the  place  of  the  leaves  for  one  or  two  inches,  and,  like  them, 
rising  from  the  axil  of  a  membranaceous  scale.  Each  cone  is 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  long  and  one-fifth  broad. 

The  fertile  cones  are  single  or  two  to  four  together,  around 
the  new  bud,  at  the  extremity  of  the  smaller  branches  on'  all 
parts  of  the  tree.  At  the  end  of  a  year,  the  cones  are  two 
inches  or  more  long,  egg-shaped,  tapering,  set  with  green  scales 
with  a  brown  tip.  They  become  mature  in  the  course  of  the 
second  season,  and  may  be  gathered  for  seed  in  the  succeeding 
fall  or  winter. 

The  Norway  pine  grows  as  rapidly  as  the  pitch  pine,  and 
usually  to  a  greater  height,  and  with  a  clearer  stem,  so  as  to 
form  somewhat  longer  timber.  A  few  years  ago,  it  was  not 
uncommon  to  find  pine  trees  of  this  kind  in  the  southern  part 
of  Maine  exceeding  one  hundred  feet  in  height  and  four  feet  in 
diameter.  The  wood  is  strong  and  somewhat  durable,  and 
much  like  that  of  pitch  pine;  but  it  is  freer  from  resin,  and 
softer,  having  qualities  intermediate  between  it  and  that  of 
white  pine.  It  was  formerly  employed,  like  that  of  the  pitch 
pine,  for  the  decks  of  vessels,  and  sometimes  for  pumps  and  for 
masts ;  but  it  is  found  to  be  so  much  inferior  in  durability,  that 
its  use  is  almost  entirely  discontinued.  ^rX 

W,'*  ***  Vgfc 
uj  LIBRARY  Uo 


76         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


There  are  several  pines,  natives  of  Europe,  which  might  be 
introduced  with  advantage  into  this  country.  The  most  valu- 
able of  these  is  the  Scotch  pine,  (Pinus  sylvestris,)  or  Scotch 
fir,  as  it  is  usually  called,  the  only  one  of  the  genus  which 
grows  naturally  in  the  British  Islands.  It  also  grows  through- 
out the  north  of  Europe,  and  it  is  from  this  pine,  that  the  masts 
and  other  most  valuable  timber  of  Norway  and  the  shores  of 
the  Baltic  are  obtained.  The  English  ship-builders  esteem  the 
wood  as  superior  to  that  of  any  of  the  American  pines.  This 
tree  grows  with  as  great  freedom  and  luxuriance  here  as  any 
of  our  native  trees.  Several  stocks  are  to  be  seen  at  the  Botanic 
Garden  in  Cambridge,  where  they  have  kept  pace  with  the  white 
pine,  the  pitch  pine,  and  the  hemlock.  The  Scotch  fir  has  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  pitch  pine.  It  is  a  more  beautiful 
tree,  and  differs  in  having  its  leaves,  like  those  of  the  Norway 
pine,  in  twos. 

Another  is  the  cluster  pine,  (P.  pinaster,}  a  native  of  the 
south  of  Europe,  much  cultivated  in  England  as  an  ornamental 
tree.  It  is  a  variety  of  this  tree  which  has  been  employed  so 
successfully  in  France  to  cover  and  fix  and  turn  to  advantage 
the  tracts  of  moving  and  barren  sands  on  the  coast. 

Several  pines,  natives  of  the  western  coast  of  this  continent, 
would  probably  be  propagated  without  difficulty  and  be  found 
of  value  for  their  wood.  Such  are  the  heavy  pine  (P.  ponde- 
rosd),  from  the  Northwest  Coast,  remarkable  for  the  great 
weight  of  its  wood ;  Sabine's  pine  (P.  Sabiniana),  from  the 
mountains  of  California;  and  particularly  the  gigantic  pine 
(P.  Lambertiana),  from  the  northwest  country,  in  latitude  43°. 
This  is  nearly  allied  to  the  white  pine. 


I.    2.  THE  HEMLOCK.  77 


I.     2.  The  Spruce.     Abies.     Jussieu. 

The  hemlock  and  the  spruce  belong  to  a  genus  distinguished 
from  the  pines  in  their  general  appearance,  and  by  the  follow- 
ing particular  differences  :  their  leaves  are  solitary  and  very 
short ;  the  male  flowers  are  in  solitary  aments ;  the  cones  are 
pendulous,  or  dependent ;  the  scales  of  the  cones  are  thin  at 
their  edge ;  the  fruit  comes  to  maturity  in  a  single  year.  They 
are  evergreen,  resinous  trees,  of  an  erect,  pyramidal  shape, 
natives  of  Europe,  Asia  and  America. 

Three  species  are  found  in  Massachusetts  : — 

1.  The  Hemlock  has  small,  pointed,  pendulous,  terminal 
cones,  and  thin,  flat  leaves ; 

2.  The  Black  Spruce  has  dependent,  egg-shaped  cones,  with 
scales  waved  and  jagged  at  the  edge; 

3.  The  White  Spruce  has  cones  longer,  also  dependent,  and 
spindle-shaped,  with  scales  smooth  and  entire  at  the  edge. 

Both  have  four-angled,  awl-shaped  leaves. 

I.     2.  Sp.  1.  The  Hemlock.     Abies  Canadensis.     Michaux. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus  ;  Plate  45. 

Michaux  ;  Sylva  III,  149,  and  beautifully  in 
Loudon  ;  VIII,  Plate  335,  a,  b. 

The  hemlock  spruce,  or  hemlock,  as,  throughout  New  Eng- 
land, it  is  almost  universally  called,  is  the  most  beautiful  tree 
of  the  family.  It  is  distinguished  from  all  the  other  pines  by  the 
softness  and  delicacy  of  its  tufted  foliage ;  from  the  spruce  by 
its  slender  tapering  branchlets,  and  the  smoothness  of  its  limbs  ; 
and  from  the  balsam  fir  by  its  small  terminal  cones,  by  the 
irregularity  of  its  branches,  and  the  gracefulness  of  its  whole 
appearance. 

The  young  trees,  by  their  numerous  irregular  branches, 
clothed  with  foliage  of  a  delicate  green,  form  a  rich  mass  of 
verdure ;  and  when,  in  the  beginning  of  summer,  each  twig  is 
terminated  with  a  tuft  of  yellowish-green  recent  leaves,  sur- 
mounting the  darker  green  of  the  former  year,  the  effect,  as  an 


78         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

object  of  beauty,  is  equalled  by  very  few  flowering  shrubs,  and 
far  surpasses  that  produced  by  any  other  tree. 

In  the  forest,  it  rises  with  a  uniform  shaft  sixty  or  eighty 
feet,  with  its  diameter  but  slightly  diminished  until  near  the 
top,  when  it  tapers  very  rapidly  and  forms  a  head  round  and 
full  of  branches.  Below,  it  is  set  with  stiff,  broken,  dead  limbs, 
projecting  at  right  angles  to  the  trunk.  The  rapid  tapering  of 
the  extremity  of  the  stem,  may  be  noticed  at  every  period  of  its 
growth,  and  forms  a  striking  peculiarity  in  the  appearance  of 
the  tree. 

The  trunk  of  the  hemlock  is  covered  with  a  reddish  bark, 
somewhat  roughened  by  long  shallow  furrows,  when  it  is  old, 
but  less  so  than  on  many  other  trees.  The  branches  and 
small  twigs  have  a  smooth,  light  gray  bark.  The  branchlets 
are  very  small,  light  and  slender,  and  are  set  irregularly  on 
the  horizontal  sides  of  the  small  branches,  forming  with  them 
a  flat  surface.  This  arrangement  renders  them  singularly 
well  adapted  to  the  making  of  brooms,  a  use  of  the  hemlock 
familiar  to  housewives  in  the  country  towns  throughout  New 
England.  In  the  disposition  of  the  limbs,  there  is  no  approach 
to  the  regular  stages  of  whorls,  characteristic  of  the  other  pines, 
but  they  are  scattered  without  order  along  the  trunk,  and  being 
rather  small,  and  horizontal,  with  an  easy  sweep  upward,  ren- 
der a  hemlock  of  forty  or  fifty  feet,  which  has  stood  alone,  the 
most  graceful  of  the  evergreens.  The  leaves  are  very  small 
and  flat,  entire  or  with  a  few  minute  teeth  towards  the  end, 
green  above,  and  shining  with  rows  of  silvery  dots  beneath. 
They  are  on  very  small,  thread-like  footstalks,  arranged  in 
spirals  around  the  branch,  but  disposing  themselves,  by  the 
bending  of  the  footstalks,  in  two  rows  on  the  sides. 

The  sterile  flowers  are  on  small  aments  at  or  near  the  end  of 
the  smaller  branches.  Each  ament  has  at  its  base  a  few  mem- 
branaceous brown  scales,  and,  at  a  little  distance  above  them, 
an  oblong  head,  one-tenth  of  an  inch  long,  formed  of  from  ten 
to  twenty  heart-shaped,  hollow  scales,  beneath  each  of  which 
are  two  cells  full  of  the  fertilizing  dust. 

The  fertile  aments  are  on  the  ends  of  the  outer  branchlets. 
They  are  egg-shaped,  one-fourth  of  an  inch  long,  and  imbri- 


I.    2.  THE  HEMLOCK.  79 

cated  with  green,  fleshy  scales,  within  each  of  which  are  two 
raised  points,  making  an  opening  downwards  to  a  cavity  con- 
taining the  rudiments  of  the  future  seed.  Without,  is  a  small, 
jagged,  thin  scale. 

The  cones  are  elliptical  and  pointed,  of  a  light  brown  color, 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  long,  and  three-eighths  broad,  set  upon 
the  extremities  of  the  smallest  branches,  and  pendent  on  a  short 
footstalk  larger  than  the  branchlet,  of  which  it  is  the  end. 
They  consist  of  about  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  entire  scales, 
rounded  at  the  edge,  the  central  ones  protecting  each  two  small 
seeds,  which  are  furnished  with  wings  in  size  and  shape  not 
unlike  those  of  a  common  fly.  The  cones  are  mature  in  the 
autumn,  and  shed  their  seeds  then  and  during  the  winter. 

The  hemlock  is  said  by  Pursh  to  extend  to  the  most  northern 
regions  in  Canada,  and  was  found  by  Mr.  Menzies  in  North- 
west America  ;  it  is  found  in  every  part  of  this  State,  on  almost 
every  variety  of  soil.  It  flourishes  in  the  ruins  of  granitic  rocks, 
on  the  sides  of  hills  exposed  to  the  violence  of  the  storms.  As 
it  bears  priming  to  almost  any  degree,  without  suffering  injury, 
it  is  well  suited  to  form  screens  for  the  protection  of  more  ten- 
der trees  and  plants,  or  for  concealing  disagreeable  objects. 
By  being  planted  in  double  or  triple  rows,  it  may,  in  a  few 
years,  be  made  to  assume  the  appearance  of  an  impenetrable, 
evergreen  wall, — really  impenetrable  to  the  wind  and  to  domes- 
tic animals.  A  hedge  of  this  kind,  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  on 
a  bleak,  barren  plain  exposed  to  the  northwest  winds,  gave 
Dr.  Greene  of  Mansfield  a  warm,  sunny,  sheltered  spot  for  the 
cultivation  of  delicate  annual  plants.  When  I  saw  it,  the  an- 
nuals, several  of  which  were  rare  exotics,  were  beautiful,  but 
the  hemlock  screen  was  much  more  so. 

The  hemlock  is  at  first  of  slow  growth,  and  the  delicate 
drooping  plant  looks,  for  two  or  three  years,  as  if  the  sun  or  the 
wind  would  inevitably  destroy  it.  Unprotected  and  single,  it 
should  never  be  exposed  to  their  influence.  In  three  or  four 
years  it  lifts  up  its  head,  and  at  last  grows,  in  favorable  situa- 
tions, with  great  rapidity.  Several  trees  at  the  Botanic  Garden, 
which,  in  1841,  had  been  thirty-one  years  planted,  showed,  on 
careful   measurement,   an  average  growth  of   fourteen  inches 


80         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

in  diameter  at  the  ground,  that  is,  somewhat  less  than  half 
an  inch  a  year.  The  largest  of  these  measured  five  feet  and 
three  inches,  the  smallest,  two  feet  and  nine  inches  in  circum- 
ference. 

The  timber  of  the  hemlock  is  wanting  in  strength,  in  conse- 
quence of  having  the  circles  of  growth  separated  at  intervals, 
or,  to  use  the  language  of  the  dealers  in  timber,  being  "shaky." 
This  defect  Michaux  *  supposes  to  be  produced  by  the  winds, 
acting  with  great  force  upon  a  broad  compact  summit  rising 
above  the  heads  of  the  surrounding  trees.  Its  firmness  is  great, 
and  it  is  very  durable  when  not  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  but 
as  it  has  little  resin,  it  ill  bears  the  alternations  of  moisture  and 
dryness.  It  is  therefore  employed,  together  with  spruce,  in 
every  part  of  New  England,  as  a  substitute  for  white  pine, 
where  the  latter  has  grown  scarce,  for  the  frames  of  all  kinds 
of  buildings  which  are  to  be  covered,  for  the  board  covering  of 
wooden  houses  which  are  to  be  clap-boarded,  and  particularly, 
on  account  of  its  hardness,  for  the  threshing  floors  of  barns.  It 
is  preferred  to  other  woods  for  the  material  of  lathes,  and  for 
any  purpose  where  stiffness  is  wanted  without  the  property  of 
yielding,  or  elasticity.  It  is  much  used  in  the  large  Atlantic 
cities,  as  a  substitute  for  stone  in  the  pavement  of  streets,  for 
which  purpose  it  is  sawn  into  hexagonal  blocks  of  eight  inches 
in  thickness,  and  eight,  ten,  or  eighteen  inches  in  breadth. 

For  fuel,  it  has  not  great  value,  as  it  burns  with  a  great 
crackling  and  snapping.  It  is,  however,  used  in  close  stoves. 
Many  cords  of  the  bark  are  annually  consumed  as  fuel.  But  the 
most  important  use  to  which  this  bark  is  applied,  and  for  which 
it  is  imported  from  Maine  is,  as  a  substitute  for  oak  bark  in  the 
preparation  of  leather.  It  contains  a  great  quantity  of  tannin, 
combined  with  a  coloring  matter  which  gives  a  red  color  to  the 
leather,  apt  to  be  communicated  to  articles  kept  long  in  contact 
with  it.  On  which  account,  this  bark  is  not  commonly  used  for 
the  best  kinds  of  leather,  by  itself,  but  mixed  with  oak  bark ; 
and  the  compound  is  said  to  be  superior  to  either  alone. 

*  Sylva,  III,  188. 


I.     2.  THE  BLACK  OR  DOUBLE  SPRUCE.  81 


Sp.  2.    The  Black  or  Double  Spruce.     Abies  nigra.    Michaux. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus  ;  Plate  37. 

Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  147. 

The  two  species  of  spruce,  the  black  and  the  white,  or,  as 
they  are  more  commonly  called,  the  double  and  the  single,  are 
distinguished  from  the  fir  and  the  hemlock,  in  every  stage  of 
growth,  by  the  roughness  of  the  bark  on  their  branches,  pro- 
duced by  little  ridges,  running  down  from  the  base  of  each  leaf, 
and  by  the  disposition  of  the  leaves,  which  are  arranged  in  spi- 
rals equally  on  every  side  of  the  young  shoots.  The  double  is 
distinguished  from  the  single  spruce,  by  the  darker  color  of  the 
foliage,  whence  its  name  of  black  spruce,  by  the  greater  thick- 
ness, in  proportion  to  the  length,  of  the  cones,  and  by  the  loose- 
ness of  the  scales,  which  are  jagged  or  toothed  on  the  edge. 

The  trunk  of  the  double  spruce  is  perfectly  straight  and  reg- 
ularly tapering  from  the  ground  to  the  top.  The  bark  is  smooth, 
covered  with  thin,  narrow  scales,  which  on  old  trunks  become 
roundish.  On  the  smaller  branches  and  upper  part  of  the 
trunk,  these  scales  are  downward  continuations  of  the  leaves, 
and  often  come  off  with  them.  They  are  grayish  in  the  mid- 
dle, edged  with  brown. 

The  branches  are  in  whorls  of  four  or  more,  but,  except  on 
small  trees,  the  whorls  are  not  very  distinct,  in  consequence  of 
the  premature  decay  of  two  or  more  of  the  branches,  and  of  the 
fact  that  between  the  whorls  are  occasionally  scattered  single 
limbs.  When  a  tree  stands  by  itself,  in  a  sheltered  situation 
favorable  to  its  growth,  the  stages  or  whorls  are  regularly  dis- 
posed, and,  diminishing  gradually  in  length  from  the  ground  to 
the  top,  form  a  conical  head  of  strikingly  regular  and  symmet- 
rical proportions.  To  the  unpractised  eye,  this  mathematical 
exactness  of  shape  is  beautiful,  and  the  spruce  is  a  favorite 
tree  and  is  often  placed  in  the  near  vicinity  of  houses.  But  to 
one  studious  of  variety  and  picturesque  effect,  the  regular  cone 
becomes  stiff  and  monotonous,  and  the  unvarying  dark  green 
of  the  foliage  has  a  sombre  and  melancholy  aspect. 

The  recent   shoots  are  pretty  large,  covered  with  a  light 
12 


82         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

brown  surface.  The  leaves  are  dark  green,  two  or  three  fifths 
of  an  inch  long,  and  obtusely  four-sided,  with  rows  of  minute 
silvery,  resinous  dots  in  the  grooves,  above  and  below ;  they  end 
in  an  abrupt  point,  and  are  supported  by  a  minute  brown  foot- 
stalk, which  runs  down  along  the  bark  of  the  stem.  They  are 
very  closely  arranged  in  spiral  lines,*  and  continue  on  the  tree 
until,  by  the  growth  of  the  branch,  they  are  one-fourth  or  one- 
half  an  inch  asunder,  their  footstalks  dividing  the  surface  into 
irregular,  lozenge-shaped  spaces,  gradually  roughening,  until, 
when  the  stem  or  branch  is  a  few  inches  in  diameter,  it  is  cov- 
ered with  small,  loose,  thin  scales. 

The  male  flowers  are  in  catkins,  situated  at  the  base  or  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  branchlets  near  the  terminal  buds.  They 
are  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  long,  and  are  formed  of  a  central 
axis  or  rachis,  from  which  branch  stamens  on  short  footstalks, 
opening  on  two  sides,  and  ending  in  a  violet  or  purple,  shield- 
like, lobed  or  nearly  round  disk. 

The  fertile  flowers  are  in  ovoid,  erect  catkins  made  up  of 
scales  which  are  of  a  pale  purple,  bordered  with  rose  color. 
They  open  in  May. 

The  mature  cones  are  egg-shaped,  pointing  downwards,  an 
inch  or  more  in  length,  with  obovate  scales,  not  closely  set, 
waved,  notched  or  toothed,  and  sometimes  divided  on  the  edge. 
They  are  of  a  fine  dark  brown  or  purple,  until  mature,  when 
they  become  pale  brown.  They  ripen  in  November,  but  do 
not  open  until  the  following  spring.  The  buds  are  short,  leafy 
branches,  surrounded  by  delicate,  membranaceous  scales. 

The  roots  penetrate  just  below  the  surface  and  then  run  hori- 
zontally in  curved  lines  to  eight  or  ten  feet  distance.  They  are 
covered  with  a  dark  red  bark,  which  is  scaly  on  the  smaller 
roots. 

There  is  a  superior  variety  of  the  double  spruce  with  red 
wood,  often  considered  a  distinct  species,  and  called  red  spruce. 
The  color  is  doubtless  owing  to  some  peculiarity  produced  by 
soil  or  exposure,  as  was  confidently  stated  by  Michaux. 

*  These  are  eight,  if  counted  one  way,  and  eleven,  if  counted  another ;  the 
leaves  and  scales  of  all  the  pines  being  so  disposed  as  to  form  spirals  in  two  di- 
rections. 


I.     2.         THE  BLACK  OR  DOUBLE  SPRUCE.  83 

The  tree  improves  in  size,  height  and  vigor,  with  the  latitude, 
for  some  degrees  northward  of  this  State.  It  is  probably  most 
perfect  in  the  northern  part  of  Maine  or  a  little  further  north. 
It  is  found  in  Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotia,  and  throughout 
Canada,  to  latitude  65°,  where  it  terminates  with  the  paper 
birch. 

Seven  spruce  trees  of  thirty-one  years'  growth,  in  the  Botanic 
Garden,  gave  an  average  of  thirty  inches  in  circumference,  or 
one-third  of  an  inch  annual  growth  in  diameter. 

It  rarely  grows  to  a  large  size.  I  measured  a  spruce  in 
Becket,  which  had  a  circumference  of  five  feet  six  inches  near 
the  ground,  and  diminished  almost  imperceptibly. 

The  valuable  properties  of  the  wood  of  double  spruce,  are 
strength,  lightness,  elasticity  and  durability.  As  combining 
these  in  a  higher  degree  than  any  other  wood  applicable  to  the 
purpose,  it  is  used  for  the  smaller  spars  of  ships,  for  all,  indeed, 
except  the  masts  and  bowsprits,  in  preference  to  any  other,  ex- 
cept the  white  or  single  spruce,  and  in  toughness  it  is  superior 
to  that.  It  is  also  sometimes  used,  in  place  of  oak,  or  mingled 
with  it,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  hull,  and  is  found  to  outlast 
the  oak,  and  to  possess  the  requisite  tenacity.  A  builder  in 
New  Bedford  informed  me  that  a  ship  over  thirty  years  old 
had  had,  during  the  whole  time,  a  mizzen-mast  of  spruce,  which, 
when  taken  out,  exhibited  no  marks  of  decay.  Knees,  also,  of 
great  durability,  are  made  of  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk  and  a 
principal  root  of  the  spruce.  It  is  much  used  for  making  lad- 
ders, and  extensively  employed  in  building,  being  suitable  for 
the  smaller  timbers  in  the  frame,  and  for  shingles.  For  these 
purposes,  much  spruce  timber  is  brought  to  Boston  from  the 
lower  part  of  Maine,  particularly  of  the  variety  called  red,  and 
in  pieces  seventy  or  eighty  feet  long. 

Great  quantities  of  spruce  beer  are  annually  made  from  the 
recent  shoots  of  the  double  spruce.* 

*  This  beer  is  said  to  be  made  by  boiling  the  fresh  branches  of  spruce  until  the 
bark  is  loosened,  mixing  with  the  decoction  roasted  oats  or  barley  and  toasted 
bread  or  biscuits,  sweetening  with  brown  sugar  or  molasses,  and  causing  the  liquor 
to  ferment,  by  means  of  yeast. 


84         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sp.  3.     The  Single  or  White  Spruce.    Abies  alba.     Michaux. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus  ;  Plate  37. 

Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  148. 

This  is  a  more  slender  and  tapering  tree  of  the  swamps, 
marked  by  the  light  color  of  the  bark  and  lighter  green  of  the 
leaves.  It  rarely  rises  to  the  height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet.  It  is 
perfectly  straight,  with  numerous,  somewhat  irregularly  scat- 
tered branches,  forming  a  head  of  the  same  shape  as  that  of  the 
double  spruce,  but  less  broad,  and  with  foliage  of  a  less  gloomy 
color,  whence  its  name.  The  bark  is  of  a  light  brown,  some- 
what roughened  by  scales  an  inch  broad  and  of  somewhat 
greater  length. 

The  shoots  are  slender,  of  a  light  brown  or  yellowish  color, 
the  bark  seeming  to  be  made  up,  as  in  the  other  species,  of  small 
roundish  ridges  formed  of  the  footstalks  of  the  leaves  extending 
downwards  and  ending  at  a  leaf  below.  The  leaves  are  of  a 
light  bluish  green,  in  spirals  rather  closely  set,  and  equally  on 
all  sides  of  the  shoot.  On  the  horizontal  branchlets,  the  short 
footstalks  of  the  leaves  on  the  under  side  are  so  bent  as  to  bring 
all  the  leaves  to  the  upper  half  of  the  branch.  The  leaves 
usually  fall  off  in  two  or  three  years,  leaving  a  scaly  surface 
bristling  with  the  short  persistent  footstalks.  These  gradually 
disappear  and  the  loose  scales  enlarge  with  the  growth  of  the 
branch. 

The  root  is  remarkable  for  its  toughness,  and  from  it  the 
Canadian  Indians  make  the  threads  with  which  they  sew 
together  the  birch-bark  for  their  canoes. 

The  cones,  which  are  pale  green  when  young,  and  afterwards 
pale  brown,  vary  in  size  extremely.  As  they  grow  here,  they 
are  from  three-quarters  of  an  inch  to  one  and  one-half  inches 
long,  nearly  cylindrical  in  shape,  or  somewhat  tapering,  with 
rounded  ends.  In  Canada,  they  are  often  three  inches  long. 
The  scales  are  close  set  and  perfectly  smooth  and  entire  on  their 
edge. 

The  single  spruce  is  thought  to  possess  the  excellent  proper- 
ties of  the  other  species  in  an  equal  degree,  and  is  preferred, 


I.    3.  THE  BALSAM  FIR.  85 

when  it  can  be  had,  for  the  lighter  spars  of  vessels,  on  account 
of  the  smoothness  and  beauty  with  which  it  works.  It  is  found 
farther  north  than  any  other  tree  of  America,  and  in  latitude 
67£°  attains  the  height  of  twenty  feet  or  more.* 

This  tree  has  considerable  rapidity  of  growth.  Seven  trees 
in  the  Botanic  Garden,  Cambridge,  which  had  been  planted 
thirty-one  or  thirty-two  years,  measured,  one,  two  feet  ten 
inches ;  one,  two  feet  nine  inches :  three,  two  feet  five  inches 
each ;  one,  two  feet  four  inches ;  and  one,  two  feet  three  inches  ; 
giving,  on  an  average,  a  diameter  of  ten  inches  in  thirty -one 
years,  or  a  growth  of  somewhat  less  than  one-third  of  an  inch 
annually. 

I.     3.  The  Fir.     Picea.     Link. 

The  firs  are  lofty  trees,  social  inhabitants  of  the  colder  regions 
of  both  hemispheres,  and  often  forming  vast  woods.  They  are 
remarkable  for  the  regularity  and  symmetry  of  their  pyramidal 
heads.  The  leaves  are  solitary,  needle-shaped,  rigid,  semper- 
virent,  supposed  by  botanists  to  be  formed  of  two,  grown  to- 
gether. They  are  distinguished  from  the  other  pines  by  the 
smoothness  of  their  bark,  in  which  are  formed  cavities  or  crypts 
containing  their  peculiar  balsam,  by  the  silvery  whiteness  of 
the  under  surface  of  the  seemingly  two-rowed  leaves,  and  by 
their  long  erect  cones,  formed  of  woody,  deciduous  scales,  with 
a  smooth,  thin  edge. 

Sp.  1.   The  Balsam  Fir.     Picea  balsamifera.     Michaux. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus  ;  Plate  41. 

Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  150. 
Loudon  ;  Arboretum,  VIII,  Plate  334. 

This  beautiful  evergreen  resembles  the  spruce  in  its  regular 
pyramidal  form.  It  differs  from  it  in  its  bark,  which  is  smooth 
when  young,  and  continues  so  until  the  tree  has  attained  con- 
siderable age ;  in  its  leaves,  which  are  nearly  flat,  and  of  a  beau- 
tiful silvery  color  beneath,  and  in  having  large,  upright  cones. 

*  Hooker's  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  II,  163. 


86         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

It  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  silver  fir  of  Europe,  a  much 
loftier  and  nobler  tree.  The  American  tree  is  known  by  the 
name  of  fir  balsam,  or  balsam  fir,  or  simply,  fir. 

The  root  of  the  balsam  fir,  like  that  of  the  other  pines,  pene- 
trates to  a  small  depth,  in  young  trees,  not  more  than  a  foot ; 
and  extends  horizontally  to  the  distance  of  five  or  six,  rarely 
ten  feet,  covered  with  a  bright  red  or  crimson  bark,  which 
separates  in  thin  scales.  The  trunk  is  perfectly  even  and 
straight,  and  tapers  regularly  and  rapidly  to  the  top.  It  is  a 
thrifty  grower,  and  the  young  shoots  are  stout  and  large,  and 
covered  with  a  green  bark  striate  with  gray.  They  are  close 
set  with  leaves  in  regular  spirals,  which  continue  many  years, 
becoming  more  and  more  remote  by  the  growth  of  the  stem, 
and,  when  they  fall,  leaving  a  large,  oval,  horizontal  scar  of 
great  permanence.  The  bark  becomes,  from  year  to  year,  of  a 
deeper  green,  and  remains  smooth,  swollen  at  intervals  with  the 
vesicles  produced  by  the  crypts  containing  the  balsam,  and  in 
the  larger  stocks,  on  its  native  mountains,  blotched  with  mem- 
branaceous lichens. 

The  branches,  which  in  young  trees  incline  upward,  and  on 
older  ones  become  nearly  horizontal,  with  a  slight  upward 
sweep,  are  in  whorls  of  about  five,  often  with  the  regularity  of 
the  branches  of  a  chandelier,  with  occasionally  scattered  soli- 
tary limbs  between.  The  leaves  are  sessile,  from  one-fourth  of 
an  inch  to  an  inch  in  length,  smooth,  narrow,  pointed,  green 
with  faint  white  lines  above,  with  a  silvery  blue  tinge  beneath, 
produced  by  many  lines  of  minute,  shining,  resinous  dots. 
Arranged  in  spirals,  they  spread  equally  on  every  side  of  the 
stem  or  branch,  but  when  the  latter  is  horizontal,  they  so  bend 
upwards  from  the  lower  side  as  to  seem  to  form  but  two  rows, 
or  to  be  crowded  on  the  upper  side. 

The  buds,  round  and  small,  are  enveloped  in  resin;  those  on 
the  ends  of  the  principal  and  larger  shoots,  are  surrounded  by 
about  five  smaller  ones.  Those  on  the  lateral  shoots  are  single 
or  two  or  three  together ;  and  solitary  buds  are  scattered  irregu- 
larly at  various  points. 

The  stamens  are  in  oblong  heads  or  aments,  one-fourth  of  an 
inch  long,  rather  densely  crowded  on  the  lower  side,  near  the 


I.    3.  THE  BALSAM  FTR.  87 

extremity  of  the  branches.  Each  anient  is  on  a  short  footstalk, 
which  rises  from  a  cnp-like,  irregular  scale,  in  the  axil  of  a  leaf. 

The  cones  are  erect,  near  the  ends  of  the  upper  branches, 
from  two  to  four  inches  long,  and  an  inch  or  more  thick,  nearly 
cylindrical  or  a  little  tapering,  with  the  ends  rounded,  and  set 
on  very  short,  stout  footstalks.  They  are  made  up  of  broad, 
round,  bluish,  purple  scales,  outside  each  of  which  is  a  scale 
resembling  a  transformed,  winged  leaf,  and  within  are  two 
seeds  with  short,  broad,  purple  wings.  They  stand  in  great 
numbers  on  the  uppermost  branches,  and,  by  their  soft  purple 
color,  produce  a  fine  effect. 

The  balsam  is  gathered,  in  small  quantities,  by  puncturing 
the  tubercles  in  the  bark  and  receiving  it  in  a  cup,  or  shell,  or 
an  iron  spoon.  The  process  is  a  slow  one,  and  the  turpentine, 
which,  under  the  name  of  balsam  of  Gilead,  or  Canada  balsam, 
is  reputed  to  have  great  virtues  in  pulmonary  complaints,  is 
sold  at  a  high  price  in  this  country  and  in  England.  A  valu- 
able varnish  for  water-colors  is  prepared  from  it. 

The  wood  of  the  fir  is  of  little  value,  as  it  is  deficient  in 
hardness,  strength  and  elasticity,  and  the  tree  does  not  often 
attain  a  large  size.  It  is  hardy,  easily  transplanted,  and  grows 
rapidly  and  with  great  vigor,  and  possesses  in  a  high  degree  the 
most  important  qualities  of  the  evergreens  as  an  ornamental 
tree,  a  regular  pyramidal  shape,  and  rich,  deep-green  foliage. 
The  large  cones  with  which  the  upper  branches  are  often  load- 
ed, give  it  additional  beauty.  Its  defects  are  its  stiffness,  and 
the  raggedness  which  it  assumes  in  old  age,  which  comes  on 
early;  as  it  is  a  short-lived  tree. 

Its  chief  recommendations  are  its  hardiness  and  quickness  of 
growth.  It  stands  unprotected  against  the  wind,  when  not 
blowing  from  the  sea,  better  than  any  other  tree,  and  grows  on 
a  bleak  point  where  any  other  would  be  killed.  Of  several 
firs  in  the  Botanic  Garden,  which  had  been  planted  in  18U9  or 
'10,  the  largest  measured,  in  1841,  after  it  had  been  thirty-one 
years  planted,  four  feet  two  inches,  at  the  ground,  and  three 
feet  five  inches,  at  three  feet.  One,  planted  in  1S14,  measured 
three  feet  ten  inches  at  the  ground,  two  feet  six  inches  at  three 
feet;  and  one,  planted  in  1819  or  '20,  measured  three  feet  one 


88  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

inch  at  the  ground ;  giving  an  average  growth  of  more  than 
half  an  inch  in  diameter  a  year.  The  balsam  fir  is  found,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Richardson,  in  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia  to  the 
Saskatchawan. 

A  mass  of  crowded  branches,  with  minute,  altered  leaves,  is 
sometimes  found  on  the  fir,  similar  to  what  will  be  hereafter 
spoken  of  as  occurring  on  the  red  cedar. 

The  European  silver  fir,  (the  abies  pulcherrima  of  Virgil),  so 
similar  and  so  superior  to  the  balsam  fir,  and  which  sometimes 
attains  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
and  even  more,  grows  with  great  vigor  in  our  gardens  and  nur- 
series, and  wherever  else  it  has  been  tried.  It  is  an  inhabitant 
of  the  mountains  of  the  south  of  Europe.  The  Norway  spruce 
seems  equally  well  adapted  to  our  soil  and  climate.  It.  is  the 
loftiest  tree  of  Europe,  and  every  way  worthy  of  cultivation 
here.  In  Winship's  nurseries,  where  it  has  been  introduced  a 
few  years,  it  outstrips  our  native  spruces.  But  still  more  re- 
markable and  desirable  trees  of  this  genus,  are  found  on  the 
western  side  of  the  continent,  within  the  limits  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States.  Such  is  the  tree  called  Douglas's  Spruce 
Fir,  (A  Douglasii,)  from  the  name  of  the  person  who  intro- 
duced it  into  England.  In  its  native  forests,  it  varies  from  two 
to  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 
and  eighty  feet  in  height ;  and  a  stump  is  mentioned  as  still 
found  on  the  Columbia  River,  which  measures  forty-eight  feet 
in  circumference  at  three  feet  from  the  ground,  exclusive  of  its 
very  thick  bark. 

Sp.  2.    The  Double  Balsam  Fir.     P.  Fraseri     Pursh. 

Figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus ;  Plate  42. 

This  tree  has  so  strong  a  resemblance  to  the  common  fir,  that 
it  is  difficult,  except  by  the  cones,  to  distinguish  them.  They 
have  the  same  habit,  the  same  kind  of  bark,  and  grow  in  similar 
situations.  The  double  fir  has  its  leaves  usually  much  more 
crowded,  whence  probably  its  name.  It  is  not  often,  how- 
ever, by  the  common  people,  distinguished.     The  mature  cone 


I.     4  THE  LARCH.  89 

presents  a  ready  and  certain  distinction.  It  is  of  about  half  the 
length  and  two-thirds  the  thickness  of  that  of  the  common  fir, 
and  the  bracts  or  transformed  leaves  inside  the  scales  of  the 
cone,  project  and  are  bent  back  over  the  scales,  and  end  in  a 
somewhat  long  point,  like  the  point  of  a  leaf. 

From  the  great  richness  and  luxuriance  of  the  foliage,  the 
double  balsam  is  a  very  beautiful  tree,  and  its  leaves  diffuse  a 
peculiarly  agreeable  resinous  odor.  It  has  been  successfully 
transplanted  in  Vermont,  and,  in  some  instances,  in  this  State, 
and  is  valuable  as  an  ornamental  tree. 

Mr.  Fraser  discovered  this  tree  on  the  high  mountains  of  Caro- 
lina: and  Pursh,  who  calls  it  Fraser's  Pine,  found  it  on  the 
Broad  Mountains  in  Pennsylvania.  I  have  seen  it  nowhere 
in  this  State,  except  on  the  top  of  Saddleback  Mountain.  It 
is  found  on  the  Green  Mountains,  in  Vermont,  and  on  Mount 
Washington,  in  New  Hampshire,  and,  mingled  with  the  com- 
mon fir,  in  the  moist  woods  in  Maine.  It  is  a  small  tree,  of  the 
height  of  thirty  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  twenty  inches. 

I.     4.  The  Larch.     Larix.    Tourneforte. 

The  larches  are  deciduous  trees  of  cold  and  mountainous 
regions  of  both  continents.  They  are  distinguished  from  the 
other  pines  by  their  leaves,  which  grow  many  together,  in  bun- 
dles from  the  top  of  buds  whose  scales  are  as  persistent  as  the 
leaves.  The  wood  of  the  larches  is  remarkable  for  its  hardness 
and  durability. 

I.     4.  The  Hacmatack.     Larix  Americana.      Michaux. 

Two  varieties  figured  in  Lambert's  Pinus ;  Plates  49,  50. 

Also  figured  by  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  153. 

The  tree  by  Loudon  ;  Arboretum,  VIII,  Plates  346,  347. 

The  American  larch,  known  very  generally  in  New  England 
by  the  aboriginal  name  of  hacmatack,  is  not  often,  in  this  State, 
a  tall  tree.  In  deep  forests  it  sometimes  attains  the  elevation 
of  seventy  feet,  but  does  not  usually  exceed  half  that  height. 
It  is  distinguished  from  all  others  of  the  family  by  its  crowded 
13 


90         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tufts  of  deciduous  leaves ;  from  the  European  larch,  by  the 
smallness  of  its  cones  and  the  shortness  of  its  leaves. 

It  has  a  straight,  erect,  rapidly  tapering  trunk,  clothed  with 
a  bluish  gray  bark,  rather  rough,  with  small  roundish  scales. 
The  branches  are  numerous,  very  irregular  and  horizontal,  or 
nearly  so.  The  recent  shoots,  which  are  very  slender,  have  a 
grayish  red  bark,  which  on  older  branches  becomes  brown,  and 
finally,  as  on  the  trunk,  blue  gray. 

The  leaves  are  an  inch  long,  in  circular  tufts  round  a  central 
bud,  except  on  the  growing  shoots,  where  they  are  alternate. 
They  are  linear,  flattened,  obscurely  four-sided,  sessile  and 
obtusely  pointed  at  the  end;  of  an  agreeable  light  bluish  green, 
and  differ  from  those  of  all  the  other  cone- bearing  trees  by  the 
delicacy  of  their  texture.  Late  in  autumn  they  turn  to  a  soft, 
leather-yellow  color,  and,  in  the  first  days  of  November,  fall. 

The  sterile  flowers  are  in  solitary,  erect  catkins,  which  take 
the  place  of  the  fascicles  of  leaves  towards  the  ends  of  the 
branches ;  they  are  nearly  round,  one-fourth  of  an  inch  long, 
and  composed  of  rounded,  yellow  anthers  closely  arranged. 
The  fertile  flowers  are  in  erect,  solitary  catkins,  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  branches,  half  an  inch  long,  and  made  up  of  a  few 
floral  leaves  or  scales.  Around  the  base  of  the  catkins  are  other 
scales  resembling  leaves  half  transformed,  by  a  dilated  wing  on 
each  side,  into  fertile  scales.  The  true  scales  have  a  project- 
ing point  when  in  flower,  but  afterwards  become  nearly  circu- 
lar, slightly  bent  in  at  the  edge,  and  have,  within  each,  two 
seeds  with  a  scaly  wing;  the  scales  and  wings  are  of  a  pleasant 
crimson  red.     The  flowering  season  is  May. 

The  range  of  the  hacmatack  is  from  the  mountains  of  Vir- 
ginia to  Hudson's  Bay.  At  Point  Lake,  in  latitude  65°,  it 
attains,  according  to  Dr.  Richardson,  to  the  height  of  only  six 
to  eight  feet.  It  is  found  in  cold  swamps  in  most  parts  of  this 
State ;  but  attains  its  greatest  perfection  in  a  region  consider- 
ably farther  to  the  north. 

The  wood  of  the  larch  is  very  close-grained  and  compact,  of  a 
reddish  or  gray  color,  and  remarkable  for  its  weight,  and  its  great 
strength  and  durability.  In  these  respects,  it  is  superior  to  all 
the  other  pines,  and  is  surpassed  only  by  the  oak.     Its  dura- 


I.     4.  THE  LARCH.  91 

bility  is  even,  superior  to  the  oak  itself,  and  in  old  vessels  the 
timbers  made  of  hacmatack  have  been  found  entirely  sound, 
when  those  of  white  oak  were  completely  decayed.  On  these 
accounts,  it  is  preferred  before  all  other  woods,  for  knees,  for 
beams,  and  for  top  timbers.  The  ship-builders  make  two  va- 
rieties of  the  wood,  the  gray  and  the  red,  of  which  the  latter  is 
considered  best.  Its  great  hardness  makes  it  valuable  for  steps 
in  exposed  situations ;  and  its  compactness  gives  it  great  power 
of  resisting  the  action  of  fire,  and  renders  it  nearly  incombus- 
tible, except  when  splintered.  It  would  be  better  than  any 
other  wood  in  buildings  intended  to  be  fire-proof. 

On  account  of  the  very  valuable  qualities  of  the  wood,  the 
hacmatack  would  deserve  to  be  extensively  cultivated,  and  there 
are  thousands  of  acres  of  cold  and  swampy  land,  where  it  was 
found  naturally,  which  are  now  unproductive,  and  which  might 
be  clothed  with  it.  It  has,  however,  been  found  to  be  far  infe- 
rior in  rapidity  of  growth  to  the  European  larch,  which  very 
nearly  resembles  it  in  appearance,  and  in  the  excellent  qualities 
of  its  wood.  This,  therefore,  should  be  preferred,  as  likely  to 
produce  in  the  same  time,  a  larger  quantity  of  timber  from  the 
same  surface  and  at  the  same  expense. 

On  favorable  soils,  the  European  larch  is  fit  for  every  useful 
purpose  in  forty  years'  growth.*  Its  annual  rate  of  increase  in 
Scotland  has  been  found  to  be  from  one  to  one  and  a  half 
inches  in  circumference  at  six  feet  from  the  ground,  on  trunks 
from  ten  to  fifty  years  of  age.  It  has,  moreover,  the  property 
of  flourishing  on  surfaces  almost  without  soil,  thickly  strown 
with  fragments  of  rocks,  on  the  high  and  bleak  sides  and  tops 
of  hills,  where  vegetation  scarcely  exists.  It  was  in  such  situ- 
ations as  this,  of  a  description  which  answers  but  too  well  to 
many  waste  spots  in  Massachusetts,  that  the  most  successful 
experiments  were  made,  in  Scotland,  by  the  Dukes  of  Athol. 
These  are  so  interesting  in  themselves,  and  so  deserving  of  imi- 
tation, that  a  brief  account  of  them  cannot  be  considered  unac- 
ceptable or  out  of  place  here.f 

The  estates  of  the  Dukes  of  Athol  are  in  the  north  of  Scot- 

*  Loudon's  Arboretum,  IV,  2353,  et  seq. 

t  Highland  Society's  Transactions  as  quoted  in  Loudon's  Arboretum,  2359,  et  seq. 


92         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

land,  in  the  latitude  of  nearly  57°  north.  Between  1740  and 
1750,  James,  Duke  of  Athol,  planted  more  than  twelve  hundred 
larch  trees  in  various  situations  and  elevations,  for  the  purpose 
of  trying  a  species  of  tree  then  new  in  Scotland.  In  1759,  he 
"planted  seven  hundred  larches  over  a  space  of  twenty-nine 
Scotch  acres,  intermixed  with  other  kinds  of  forest  trees,  with 
the  view  of  trying  the  value  of  the  larch  as  a  timber  tree.  This 
plantation  extended  up  the  face  of  a  hill  from  two  hundred  to 
four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  rocky  ground 
of  which  it  was  composed,  was  covered  with  loose  and  crumb- 
ling masses  of  mica  slate,  and  was  not  worth  above  £3  a  year 
altogether."  Before  he  died,  in  1764,  he  was  satisfied  of  the 
superiority  of  the  larch  as  timber,  over  the  other  firs,  even  in 
trees  of  only  eighteen  or  nineteen  years  old.  His  successor, 
John,  Duke  of  Athol,  "first  conceived  the  idea  of  planting  larch 
by  itself  as  a  forest  tree,  and  of  planting  the  sides  of  the  hills 
about  Dunkeld."  He  planted  three  acres  with  larches  alone, 
at  an  elevation  of  five  or  six  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  on  soil  not  worth  a  shilling  an  acre.  He  also  planted  over 
four  hundred  acres  on  the  sides  of  hills,  before  his  death  in 
1774.  His  son,  Duke  John,  continuing  the  execution  of  his 
father's  plans,  had  planted,  in  1783,  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine  thousand  trees.  Observing  the  rapid  growth  and  hardy 
nature  of  the  larch,  he  determined  to  cover  with  it  the  steep 
acclivities  of  mountains  of  greater  altitude  than  any  that  had  yet 
been  tried.  He  therefore  enclosed  a  space  of  twenty-nine  acres, 
"  on  the  rugged  summit  of  Craig-y-barns,  and  planted  a  strip 
entirely  with  larches,  among  the  crevices  and  hollows  of  the 
rocks,  where  the  least  soil  could  be  found.  At  this  elevation, 
none  of  the  larger  kinds  of  natural  plants  grew,  so  that  the 
grounds  required  no  previous  preparation  of  clearing."  This 
plantation  was  formed  in  1785  and  1786.  Between  that  year 
and  1791,  he  planted  six  hundred  and  eighty  acres  with  five 
hundred  thousand  larches,  the  greater  part  only  sprinkled  over 
the  surface,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  procuring  a  sufficient 
number  of  plants.  Besides  a  plantation  of  seventy  acres  for 
the  purpose  of  embellishment,  he  had,  in  1799,  extended  his 
plantations  of  larches  over  an  additional  space  of  eight  hundred 


I.     4.  THE  LARCH.  93 

acres,  six  hundred  of  which  were  planted  entirely,  though 
thinly,  with  larch.     These  took  eight  hundred  thousand  plants. 

"Observing  with  satisfaction  and  admiration  the  luxuriant 
growth  of  the  larch  in  all  situations,  and  its  hardihood,  even  in 
the  most  exposed  regions,  the  duke  resolved  on  pushing  entire 
larch  plantations  still  farther,  to  the  summit  of  the  highest 
hills."  He  therefore  determined  to  cover  with  larch  sixteen 
hundred  Scotch  acres,  "situated  from  nine  hundred  to  twelve 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Its  soil,  presenting 
the  most  barren  aspect,  was  strewed  over  thickly  with  frag- 
ments of  rock,  and  vegetation  of  any  kind  scarcely  existed  upon 
it."  "  To  endeavor  to  grow  ship-timber,"  writes  the  duke, 
"  among  rocks  and  shivered  fragments  of  schist,  such  as  I  have 
described,  would  have  appeared  to  a  stranger  extreme  folly,  and 
money  thrown  away ;  but,  in  the  year  1S00,  I  had  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years  so  watched  and  admired  the  hardihood 
and  the  strong  vegetative  powers  of  the  larch,  in  many  situa- 
tions as  barren  and  as  rugged  as  any  part  of  this  range,  though 
not  so  elevated,  as  quite  satisfied  me  that  I  ought,  having  so 
fair  an  opportimity,  to  seize  it." 

These,  with  four  hundred  acres  more,  occupied  from  1800  to 
1815.  "  Having  now  no  doubt  whatever  of  the  successful 
growth  of  the  larch  in  very  elevated  situations,  the  duke  still 
farther  pursued  his  object  of  covering  all  his  mountainous  re- 
gions with  that  valuable  wood.  Accordingly,  a  space  to  the 
northward  of  the  one  last  described,  containing  two  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine  Scotch  acres,  was  immediately  en- 
closed, and  planted  entirely  with  larch.  This  tract,  lying  gen- 
erally above  the  region  of  broom,  furze,  juniper,  and  long  heath, 
required  no  artificial  clearing.  An  improved  mode  of  planting 
was  employed  here,  that  of  using  young  plants  only,  two  or 
three  years'  seedlings,  put  into  the  ground  by  means  of  an  in- 
strument invented  by  the  duke,  instead  of  the  common  spade." 
In  1824,  the  growth  of  the  larch  in  this  last  tract,  called  "  Loch 
Ordie  Forest,  having  greatly  exceeded  the  sanguine  hopes  and 
expectations  of  the  duke,  he  determined  on  adding  to  it  an  ex- 
tensive adjoining  tract,  consisting  of  two  thousand  two  hundred 
and  thirty -one  Scotch  acres,  denominated  Loch  Hoishnie.     The 


94  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

preparations  of  fencing,  clearing  (where  that  was  necessary), 
making  roads,  and  procuring  plants  from  different  nurserymen, 
occupied  the  time  till  October,  1825,  when  the  planting  com- 
menced, and  was  carried  on  in  such  good  earnest,  that  the  whole 
was  finished  by  December,  1826." 

"The  planting  of  this  forest  appears  to  have  terminated  the 
labors  of  the  duke  in  planting."  He  and  his  predecessors  had 
planted  more  than  fourteen  millions  of  larch  plants,  occupying 
over  ten  thousand  English  acres.  It  has  been  estimated,  that 
the  whole  forest  on  mountain  ground,  planted  entirely  with 
larch,  about  six  thousand  five  hundred  Scotch  acres,  will,  in 
seventy -two  years  from  the  time  of  planting,  be  a  forest  of  tim- 
ber fit  for  building  the  largest  ships.  Before  being  cut  down 
for  this  purpose,  it  will  have  been  thinned  to  about  four  hundred 
trees  to  an  acre.  Supposing  each  tree  to  yield  fifty  cubic  feet 
of  timber,  its  value,  at  a  shilling  a  foot,  (one-half  the  present 
value),  will  give  £1000  an  acre,  or  in  all,  a  sum  of  £6,500,000 
sterling.  Besides  this,  there  will  have  been  the  value  of  the 
thinnings,  and  the  increased  value  of  the  whole  ground  for 
pasturage. 

This  effect  upon  the  land  in  improving  it  for  pasturage  is 
very  important.  If  the  larch  trees  are  planted  close,  they  will 
choke  the  bushes  and  natural  grasses.  This  may  be  effected 
in  ten  or  fifteen  years.  After  this,  gradual  thinnings  may  be 
accompanied  by  the  introduction  of  all  the  most  valuable  cul- 
tivated grasses,  which,  under  the  cover  of  the  larches,  will 
flourish  "with  the  foliage  possessing  a  softness  and  luxuriance 
not  posessed  in  other  situations." 

There  are  large  surfaces,  particularly  in  Essex  and  Bristol 
counties,  of  bleak,  rocky,  barren  hills,  or  wet  plains,  not  so 
exposed  as  that  spoken  of  above,  but  almost  equally  useless, 
which  might  doubtless  be  redeemed  by  a  similar  process.  We 
have  now  to  send  to  the  southern  states  and  to  New  York  and 
Maine,  for  a  great  portion  of  our  ship-timber.  Of  this  the  live 
oak  and  white  oak  alone  are  superior  to  larch,  and  for  many 
purposes  they  are  only  equal  to  it.  In  seventy  years,  the  ship- 
yards on  Mystic  River  and  on  Buzzard's  Bay,  might  be  sup- 
plied with  timber  from  the  neighboring  shores,  if  the  land  suit- 


I.     4.  THE  LARCH.  95 

able  for  that  purpose,  and  for  little  else,  were  immediately  to  be 
planted  with  larch.  In  half  that  space  of  time,  the  thinnings 
of  the  forest  wonld  furnish  the  smaller  timber  in  abundance. 
It  may  safely  be  predicted,  that  if  measures  are  not  taken  to 
restore  or  preserve  our  forests,  if  the  same  waste  goes  on,  which 
has  gone  on  for  the  last  fifty  years,  in  seventy  years'  timber  of 
every  kind  will  be  as  rare  and  as  dear  in  New  England  as  it 
now  is  in  Scotland. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  larch  is  put  to  a  great  variety 
of  uses.  It  is  considered  the  best  of  the  woods,  both  for  the 
carpenter  and  the  joiner ;  casks  are  made  of  it,  nearly  incor- 
ruptible; water-pipes,  shingles,  vine-props.  Its  excellent  pro- 
perties for  ship-building,  as  enumerated  by  Pontey,  are  its 
freedom  from  knots,  its  durability,  its  little  liability  to  shrink; 
or  to  crack ;  its  toughness ;  its  beautiful  color  and  its  capability 
to  receive  polish ;  its  incorruptibility,  when  exposed  to  alter- 
nations of  moisture  and  dryness. 

The  soils  suitable  for  the  larch,  according  to  Matthew,*  are 
sound  rock,  with  a  covering  of  loam,  particularly  when  the  rock 
is  jagged  or  cleft;  gravel,  not  ferruginous,  in  which  water  does 
not  stagnate,  even  though  nearly  bare  of  vegetable  mould ; 
firm,  dry  clays,  and  sound,  brown  loam ;  all  very  rough  ground, 
particularly  ravines.  The  most  desirable  situation  is,  where 
the  roots  will  neither  be  drowned  by  stagnant  water  in  winter, 
nor  parched  by  drought  in  summer.f 

The  magnificent  cedar  of  Lebanon,  (Cedrus  Llbana,)  resem- 
bles the  larch  more  than  it  does  any  other  of  our  pines ;  differ- 
ing in  having  its  leaves,  which  are  arranged  in  the  same  man- 
ner, evergreen,  and  in  the  greater  size  of  its  cones  and  its  broad, 
spreading  top.  It  is  successfully  cultivated  as  an  ornamental 
tree  in  every  part  of  Great  Britain  and  in  France,  and  would 
doubtless  succeed  in  New  England. 

*  As  quoted  by  Loudon,  p.  2376. 

f  A  very  valuable  account  of  every  thing  relating  to  the  whole  cultivation, 
management  and  uses  of  the  larch,  is  found  in  Loudon's  Arboretum,  pp.  2353  to 
2399. 


96         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

SECTION   SECOND. 
THE  CYPRESS  TRIBE. 

The  plants  which  belong  to  this  section  have  not  their  fruit 
in  a  true  cone,  but  in  a  globular  or  irregular  head,  consisting 
of  a  small  number  of  scales,  sometimes  united  into  a  sort  of 
berry.  The  section  includes  the  Arbor  Vitae,  the  Juniper,  the 
Red  and  the  White  Cedar,  the  Cypress,  and  the  exotic  genus 
Callitris.  Most  of  the  section  are  natives  of  warmer  climates. 
Those  which  belong  to  New  England  are  evergreen,  but  scarcely 
resinous.  They  may  be  propagated  by  layers  or  cuttings,  but 
more  readily  by  seeds,  which  generally  lie  in  the  ground  a  year. 
The  young  plants  are  to  be  treated  like  the  pines. 

I.     5.  Arbor  Vitje.     Cedar.     Thuya.     L. 

The  name  of  this  genus  is  derived  from  a  Greek  word  (duw)  sig- 
nifying to  sacrifice,  it  having  been  used,  from  the  agreeable  odor 
of  the  wood,  in  sacrificial  offerings.  The  thuyas  are  narrow, 
pyramidal,  evergreen  trees  or  shrubs  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  North 
America.  The  cones  are  ovoid,  of  a  few  scales,  of  which  the 
two  exterior  are  shortened  and  boat-shaped. 

Sp.  1.  The  American  Arbor  Vitje.      Thuya  occidentalls.    L. 

Figured  by  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  156. 

The  tree,  flower  and  fruit,  by  Loudon  ;  Arboretum,  VIII,  Plate  302. 

This  is  a  rare  inhabitant  of  Massachusetts.  In  favorable 
situations,  it  is  sometimes,  according  to  Michaux,  a  tree  of 
forty  or  fifty  feet  in  height,  with  a  trunk  ten  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence. But  usually  it  is  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter  at  five  feet  from  the  ground.  The  trunk  is  rarely 
straight,  and  is  often  swollen  in  large  ridges  above  the  principal 
roots.  "  The  bark  is  slightly  furrowed,  smooth  to  the  touch, 
and  very  white  when  the  tree  stands  exposed.  The  wood  is 
reddish,  somewhat  odorous,  very  light,  soft,  and  fine-grained. 
In  the  northern  part  of  the  United  States  and  in  Canada,  it 
holds  the  first  place  for  durability.     From  the  shape  of  the 


I.     5.  THE  ARBOR  VIT^G.  97 

trunk  it  is  difficult  to  procure  sticks  of  considerable  length  and 
a  uniform  diameter ;  hence,  in  Maine,  it  is  little  employed  for 
the  frame  of  houses  and  still  less  for  the  covering.  It  is  softer 
than  white  pine,  and  gives  a  weaker  hold  to  nails,  for  which 
reason  the  Canadians  always  join  with  it  some  more  solid 
wood."*  It  is  most  commonly  used  for  fences,  in  which  the 
posts,  set  in  clayey  land,  last  thirty-five  or  forty  years,  and 
the  rails  last  sixty.  It  is  also  used  in  Canada  for  the  light 
frame  of  bark  canoes.  Its  twigs  are  formed  into  brooms,  which 
exhale  an  agreeable  aromatic  odor. 

Michaux  says  that  his  father,  in  1792,  found  the  mission- 
house  built  by  the  Jesuits  near  lake  Chicoutome,  in  latitude 
48°,  of  square  beams  of  this  wood,  laid  one  upon  another, 
without  covering  on  either  side,  remaining  perfectly  sound  after 
more  than  sixty  years. 

Dr.  Richardson  found  this  tree  from  Lake  Huron  to  the  Sas- 
katchawan. 

The  smaller  branches  are  of  a  yellowish  brown  color,  regu- 
larly set  with  opposite,  scale-like,  adhering  leaves,  with  the  mar- 
gins and  point  slightly  projecting.  The  leaves  are  evergreen, 
arranged  in  four  rows,  in  alternately  opposite  pairs,  completely 
investing  and  seeming  to  make  up  the  fan-like  branchlets. 
They  are  scale-like,  marked  with  a  projecting  gland  below  the 
point,  each  lower  pair  embracing  and  covering  the  base  of  the 
pair  above.  The  branchlets  which  they  cover  are  arranged  in 
a  single  plane,  as  if  they  were  parts  of  a  large  compound,  flat, 
pinnate  leaf.  These  planes  are  variously  inclined  to  the  hori- 
zon, often  vertical,  and  form  the  striking  peculiarity  of  this  pic- 
turesque tree. 

The  male  and  female  flowers  are  on  different  parts  of  the 
same  plant.  The  male  flowers  are  very  minute,  four  or  six 
in  number,  in  alternately  opposite  pairs,  forming,  together,  a 
small  terminal  ament,  one-twelfth  part  of  an  inch  long,  on  a 
very  short  footstalk.  Each  flower  consists  of  a  roundish  shield- 
like scale,  protecting  two,  three,  or  four  anthers.  The  female 
flowers  consist  of  six  to  twelve  reddish,  dark-pointed  scales,  on 

*  Sylva,  III,  229. 

14 


98         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  sides  or  ends  of  the  branches.  They  slightly  resemble 
transformed  leaves,  each  holding  in  its  bosom  two  bottle-like 
ovaries.  The  cones  are  of  a  light  brown  color,  three-eighths  of 
an  inch  long,  consisting  of  from  six  to  twelve  loose,  oblong, 
rounded  scales,  protecting  each  two  seeds,  which  are  edged  by 
a  narrow  wing  on  each  side. 

The  arbor  vitas  is  interesting  from  its  association  with  the 
grand  and  beautiful  objects,  near  which  it  is  commonly  seen 
growing  wild  ;  such  as  Goat's  Island  at  Niagara,  and  the  steep 
banks  of  West  Canada  Creek  at  Trenton  Falls.  It  is  found 
only  in  cool  and  moist  situations,  but  may  be  cultivated  in  any 
ground  not  too  dry.  Its  fantastic  and  singular  shape  recom- 
mends it  to  be  planted  for  the  embellishment  of  water-falls,  and 
as  a  beautiful  single  tree. 

I.     6.  Cedar  or  Cypress.     Cupressus.     Tourneforte. 

The  cypresses,  for  to  this  genus  our  white  cedar  belongs,  are 
low,  evergreen  trees,  natives  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  North  Amer- 
ica, and  remarkable  for  their  spiry  form,  and  the  closeness  of 
grain,  and  the  durability  of  their  wood.  They  have  a  roundish 
or  polyedral  cone,  called  a  galbule,  and  small,  imbricated, 
scale-like,  four-rowed  leaves.  By  the  ancients,  the  cypress  was 
considered  an  emblem  of  immortality ;  with  the  moderns,  it  is 
emblematical  of  sadness  and  mourning. 

Dark  tree !  still  sad,  when  others'  grief  is  fled, 
The  only  constant  mourner  of  the  dead. — Byron. 

The  White  Cedar.     Cupressus  Ihyoides.     L. 
Figured  by  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  152. 

This  is  always  a  graceful  and  beautiful  tree.  Even  when 
growing  in  its  native  swamps,  hemmed  in  on  all  sides,  and 
struggling  for  existence,  the  top  and  a  branch  or  two  near  the 
top,  will  be  marked  by  a  characteristic  elegance  of  shape  which 
no  other  tree  of  the  family  possesses.  It  is  entirely  free  from 
the  stiffness  of  the  pines,  and  to  the  spiry  top  of  the  poplar,  and 
the  grace  of  the  cypress,  it  unites  the  airy  lightness  of  the 
hemlock. 


I.     6.  THE  WHITE  CEDAR.  99 

The  white  cedar  connects  the  arbor  vitse  with  the  cypresses. 
It  has  the  characters  of  both ;  the  scale-like,  imbricate  leaves 
and  fan-shaped  branches  of  the  former,  and  the  lofty  port  and 
globular  or  many-sided  fruit  of  the  latter. 

In  Massachusetts,  it  grows  only  in  swamps  which  are  inun- 
dated for  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  Several  of  these,  as 
between  Boston  and  Mansfield,  and  Taunton  and  New  Bed- 
ford, have  been  penetrated  by  rail-roads,  but  before  then,  the 
trees  were  nearly  inaccessible,  except  in  the  middle  of  summer, 
or  the  heart  of  winter.  The  trunk  is  very  straight  and  tall, 
tapering  very  gradually,  and,  towards  the  summit,  set  with 
short,  small,  nearly  horizontal,  irregular  branches,  forming  a 
small  but  beautiful  head,  above  which  the  leading  shoot  waves 
like  a  slender  plume.  The  bark  on  the  smaller  branches  is  of 
a  brownish  or  purplish  green,  often  mottled  with  white  lichens. 
On  the  trunk,  it  is  reddish,  scaling  off  in  thin  scales,  thready, 
and  broken  on  the  upper  part  by  furrows,  which  are  deeper, 
nearer  the  base,  on  old  trees.  These  are  long,  and  run  in  a 
spiral  line  round  the  trunk  once  in  thirty  or  more  feet,  indicating 
a  corresponding  twist  in  the  fibres  of  the  wood.  The  smaller 
branchlets  are  crowded,  and  irregularly  divaricate,  or  fan -shaped, 
like  those  of  the  arbor  vitas.  The  recent  shoots  have  a  few  oppo- 
site leaves  scattered  along  their  sides,  the  bases  of  which  seem  to 
form  a  part  of  the  greenish  bark.  In  two  or  three  years,  these 
leaves,  with  a  portion  of  bark  adhering  to  them,  scale  off,  leav- 
ing the  purplish  brown  bark  of  the  branches  and  young  stocks 
perfectly  smooth,  and  resembling  the  bark  of  a  cherry  tree.  The 
leaves  are  very  small,  scale-like,  with  triangular,  sharp  points, 
and  imbricate  in  opposite  pairs,  forming  four  rows,  completely 
covering  the  compressed  ultimate  branchlets,  which  seem  to  be 
compound  leaves.  Each  leaf  has,  like  those  of  the  arbor  vitas, 
a  minute  tubercle  on  the  back,  near  the  base. 

The  flowers  are  extremely  minute.  The  male  consists  of 
several  shield-like  scales,  protecting  about  three  stamens;  the 
female,  of  a  few  opposite  pairs  of  thickened  scales,  containing 
each  two  ovules,  in  bottle-shaped  sacs.  The  fruits  are  com- 
pound, globose,  or  many-sided,  (about  ten — )  cone-like  heads,  of 
the  size  of  a  large  pea.     These  are  at  first  green,  afterwards 


100        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

turn  blue,  and  finally  brown.  They  are  mature  in  autumn, 
when  they  cast  their  minute,  oblong,  flattened  seeds ;  but  they 
usually  remain  on  the  tree  for  some  time  after. 

The  wood  is  white,  or,  when  seasoned,  of  a  faint  rose  color, 
light,  soft,  fine-grained,  and  very  durable.  It  has  a  strong  and 
permanent  aromatic  odor;  and  it  resists  for  a  long  time  the 
alternations  of  moisture  and  dryness.  It  is  hence  particularly 
suitable  for  fencing,  for  which  purpose  it  is  much  used  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  cedar  swamps.  It  is  also  employed  in 
making  shingles,  and  wooden  vessels.  For  its  lightness  and 
durability,  it  is  chosen  for  certain  parts  of  whale-boats,  for  the 
streaks,  ceiling  or  lining,  plat-form,  and  stern-sheets ;  the  frame- 
work being  made  of  oak. 

In  its  native  swamps,  the  white  cedars  usually  come  up  so 
thickly  as  almost  to  cover  the  ground,  and  when  grown  to  the 
height  of  eight  or  ten  feet,  they  form  a  perfectly  impenetrable 
thicket.  In  this  state  they  nearly  cease  to  grow,  and  remain 
apparently  stationary,  till  the  hardier  stocks  outgrow,  over- 
shadow, and  choke  the  weaker  ones.  These  latter  gradually 
die,  making  room  for  the  slow  growth  of  the  survivors.  If,  at 
this  stage,  four  out  of  five,  or  even  nine  out  of  ten,  were  thinned 
out,  the  remainder  would  be  able  to  grow  to  an  amount  fully 
equal  to  the  whole.  This  should  always  be  done.  The  thin- 
nings are  an  excellent  material  for  fences.  On  the  grounds  of 
the  late  Joseph  Anthony,  of  New  Bedford,  was  a  fence  made 
of  small  white  cedars,  of  a  fashion  worth  imitating.  A  row  of 
cedar  stakes  is  set,  at  suitable  distances,  leaning  all  one  way, 
at  an  angle  of  45°.  In  contact  with  them  another  row  is  set, 
with  the  same  inclination  in  an  opposite  direction.  Where  the 
contiguous  stakes  cross  each  other,  they  are  fastened  together 
with  some  pliant  twig,  like  the  young  shoots  of  blue-fruited  dog- 
wood, (  Viburnum  nudum).  Thus  is  formed  a  sufficient  and 
ornamental  fence,  of  great  durability. 

The  white  cedar  has  so  many  excellent  qualities,  that,  in  an 
industrious  and  manufacturing  community,  it  can  never  cease 
to  be  valuable.  It  is  one  of  those  trees,  therefore,  which  ought 
to  be  cultivated  in  great  numbers,  to  supply  the  wants  of  pos- 
terity.    Fortunately,  it  is  one  which  can  be  cultivated  with  less 


I.     6.  THE  WHITE  CEDAR.  101 

trouble,  and  at  less  expense,  than  any  other  forest  tree,  and  it 
conflicts  with  no  other.     There  are  large  tracts  of  cold,  swampy- 
land,  which  could  be  drained  only  at  great  expense,  which  might, 
in  their  present  state,  be  made  to  produce  valuable  forests  of 
this  tree.     It  would  be  only  necessary  to  gather  the  seed  from 
the  forests  already  growing,  and  cast  it  abundantly,  in  the  fall 
of  the  year,  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground  or  water,  in  the 
morasses  and  swamps  intended  for  this  use.     In  six  or  eighteen 
months,  the  seeds  will  vegetate.    In  a  few  years,  thinnings  might 
be  made,  which,  for  enclosures  alone,  would  pay  a  high  rate  of 
interest  upon  the  value  of  the  land,  and  of  the  labor  bestowed. 

There  are  several  trees  of  the  cypress  kind  that  should  be 
introduced  for  their  beauty.     The  common  cypress  of  Europe, 
a  tall  and  graceful,  plume- shaped  tree,  the  common  and  suitable 
ornament  for  burying  places  in  the  Levant,  succeeds  in  the  open 
air  in  various  parts  of  Britain,  and  would  probably  succeed  in 
sheltered  places  here.     Perhaps  the  oldest  tree  on  record,  is  the 
cypress  of  Somma,  in  Lombardy.     It  is  supposed  to  have  been 
planted  the  year  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  and,  on  that  ac- 
count, is  looked  upon  with  reverence  by  the  inhabitants ;  but  an 
ancient  chronicle  at  Milan  is  said  to  prove  that  it  was  a  tree  in 
the  time  of  Julius  Cesar,  B.  C,  42.     It  is  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  feet  high,  and  twenty-three  feet  in  circumference  at 
one  foot  from  the  ground.     Napoleon,  when  laying  down  the 
plan  for  his  great   road  over   the   Simplon,   diverged  from  a 
straight  line  to  avoid  injuring  this  tree.* 

A  still  more  beautiful  tree,  not  an  evergreen,  is  the  cypress  of 
the  Southern  States,  {Taxbd'wm  distichuni).  This  is  a  noble 
tree.  It  often  rises  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet.  In  Bartram's  garden,  a  tree  of  this  species  is  the  chief 
ornament  of  the  place,  among  the  best  collection  of  trees  in 
North  America.  At  the  Botanic  Garden,  Cambridge,  it  grows 
perfectly  well,  and  has  never  been  visibly  affected  by  the  sever- 
ity of  our  winter. 

*  Loudon,  IV,  2471. 


102         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


I.     7.  The  Juniper.     Juniperus.     L. 

The  junipers  are  evergreen  trees  or  shrubs,  found  in  all  quar- 
ters of  the  globe.  They  are  distinguished  by  their  fruit,  which 
is  a  three-sided,  berry-like  galbule,  made  up  of  several  thickened, 
fleshy,  coalescing  ovaries,  and  usually  covered  with  a  bluish 
bloom.  The  leaves  are  opposite,  or  in  whorls,  narrow,  stiff  and 
pointed,  sometimes  minute  and  scale-like.  The  wood  is  more 
or  less  aromatic,  and  is  very  durable.  The  berries  are  employ- 
ed in  medicine  as  a  diuretic,  and  to  give  its  peculiar  flavor 
to  gin. 

The  species  in  Massachusetts  are,  1.  The  Red  Cedar,  which 
is  a  small  tree ;  and  2.  The  Common  Juniper,  a  prostrate 
shrub. 

Sp.  1.  The  Red  Cedar.     Juniperus  Virginiana.     L. 

Figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  155. 

By  Bigelow  ;  Med.  Bot.  Ill,  Plate  45. 

And  in  Loudon's  Arboretum ;  VIII,  Plate  298. 

This  is  usually  a  ragged  looking  tree.  In  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Boston,  it  is  commonly  found  on  dry,  rocky  hills, 
where  it  sometimes  attains  the  height  of  thirty  or  thirty -five 
feet.  When  it  grows  by  itself  on  the  open  ground,  it  throws 
out  several  large  limbs  close  to  the  earth,  which,  extending 
horizontally  a  few  feet,  and  sometimes  taking  root,  sweep  up- 
wards and  often  almost  equal  the  main  stem,  forming  together 
what  seems  to  be  a  clump  of  small  trees  rather  than  a  single 
tree.  Surrounded  by  other  trees  in  a  wood,  it  has  a  smooth, 
clear  trunk  for  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  and  a  handsome  spiry 
head.  On  the  rocks  it  assumes  every  variety  of  form,  round- 
headed,  irregular,  or  cone-shaped,  sometimes  not  without 
beauty. 

The  red  cedar  is  distinguished  from  the  white  and  the  arbor 
vitse,  the  only  trees  which  it  resembles,  by  having  its  fruit  in  the 
form  of  a  berry,  and  its  leaves  exhibiting  but  slightly  a  ten- 
dency to  arrange  themselves  in  a  plane.  The  trunk  is  straight, 
rapidly  decreasing,  and  full  of  branches.     It  is  often  deformed 


I.     7.  THE  RED  CEDAR.  103 

by  holes  produced  by  the  loss  of  branches,  and  by  knots  left  in 
the  attempt  to  make  it  a  shapely  tree  by  pruning.  It  is  covered 
with  a  bark,  reddish  within,  and  usually  rough  externally,  with 
long,  stringy,  brownish,  loose  scales  or  ribbons,  but  when  long 
exposed,  smooth  and  whitish.  The  furrows  separating  the 
stringy  scales,  often  take  a  slightly  spiral  direction,  indicating 
a  twist  in  the  woody  fibre  similar  to  what  is  observed  in  the 
white  cedar.  The  lateral,  crowded,  leafy  twigs  are  alternate, 
and  made  up  of  four  rows  of  leaves,  imbricately  arranged  in 
opposite  pairs,  and  connected  by  a  thread  of  woody  fibre.  The 
leaves  are  very  short,  minute,  fleshy,  convex,  and  pointed,  but 
not  sharp,  with  a  depressed  gland  on  the  outer  side ;  each  pair 
closely  embracing  the  lower  margin  and  base  of  the  pair  above 
it.  On  the  growing  shoots,  the  leaves  are  much  longer,  rigid, 
and  sharp-pointed,  in  opposite  and  somewhat  distant  pairs,  or 
threes.  These  leaves  gradually  turn  light  brown,  like  the  bark, 
and  in  a  few  years  scale  off,  leaving  the  now  purplish  bark  per- 
fectly smooth,  which  it  continues  to  be  till  the  branch  is  an  inch 
or  two  in  diameter,  when  the  epidermis  begins  to  crack  and 
scale  off.  "A  singular  variety  sometimes  appears  in  the  young 
shoots,  especially  those  which  issue  from  the  base  of  the  trees. 
This  consists  in  an  elongation  of  the  leaves  to  five  or  six  times 
their  usual  length,  while  they  become  spreading,  acerose,  con- 
siderably remote  from  each  other,  and  irregular  in  their  inser- 
tion, being  either  opposite  or  ternate.  These  shoots  are  so  dis- 
similar to  the  parent  tree,  that  they  have  been  repeatedly  mis- 
taken for  individuals  of  a  different  species."* 

The  barren  and  fertile  flowers  are  on  different  trees,  rarely  on 
the  same.  The  barren  flowers  are  in  small,  terminal,  oblong, 
yellowish  brown  aments,  from  one-tenth  to  one-fifth  of  an  inch 
long,  formed  of  four  to  six  pairs  of  shield-like  scales,  each  pro- 
tecting about  four  yellow  anthers.  The  fertile  flowers  are  still 
more  minute.  They  consist  of,  usually,  six  fleshy,  oblong,  ob- 
tuse, bluish  or  violet  scales,  in  pairs,  or  threes,  united  at  base, 

*  Bigelow's  Florula,  2d  edition,  p.  370. — This  disposition  to  the  ternate  arrange- 
ment, and  acicular  shape  of  the  leaves,  is  very  common  in  this  tree,  and,  with  its 
tendency  to  spread  near  the  ground,  shows  its  near  relationship  to  the  common 
juniper,  a  species  of  the  same  genus. 


104       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

and  containing  one  or  two  bottle-shaped,  covered  ovaries  or 
germs.*  About  these  germs  the  swelling  scales  coalesce,  and 
form  a  roundish  or  obscurely  four-sided  berry,  which  is  green, 
covered  with  a  bluish  powder,  and  marked  with  minute  projec- 
tions indicating  the  points  of  the  once  distinct  scales.  The  seeds 
are  one  or  two,  covered  with  a  bony  shell,  in  the  shape  of  a 
short  cone,  which  is  compressed  on  one  side,  when  there  are 
two.  The  flowers  open  in  April  or  May,  and  the  fruit  is  ma- 
ture in  October  or  November,  but  continues  on  the  tree  through 
the  winter. 

Though  usually  having  little  beauty,  it  may  be  made  a  hand- 
some low  or  middle-sized  tree,  by  careful  pruning  when  young. 
If  this  is  attempted  too  late,  the  tree  is  deformed  by  numerous 
knots.  When  growing  in  a  dry  but  rich  soil,  in  a  sheltered 
situation,  it  is  sometimes  a  fine  tree.  One  such,  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter,  is  growing  near  the  country  house  of  the  late 
Thomas  Rotch,  Esq.,  near  Philadelphia,  which  has  a  full, 
round,  ample  head,  and  is  nearly  forty  feet  high. 

The  wood  is  light,  close-grained,  smooth,  and  compact,  and 
possessed  of  great  durability.  The  agreeable  and  permanent 
odor  recommends  it  for  certain  uses,  as  that  of  making  pencils, 
and  the  bottoms  of  small  boxes  and  drawers,  the  aroma  making 
it  a  safeguard  against  insects.  The  sap-wood  is  white,  but  the 
heart-wood  of  a  beautiful  red,  whence  is  derived  its  name.  It 
is  much  used  to  make  posts,  which  last  many  years.  It  is  also 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  pails  and  tubs. 

The  timber  is  highly  valued  by  ship-builders,  boat-builders, 
and  carpenters,  and  by  cabinet-makers,  and  turners.  Dr.  Elliott 
makes  an  observation  in  regard  to  the  trees,  as  found  growing  in 
the  Southern  States,  which  holds  true  in  several  parts  of  New 
England.  "  Those  which  grow  along  the  sea-coast,  with  their 
roots  partially  immersed  in  salt-water,  though  smaller  in  their 
dimensions,  are  much  more  durable  than  those  which  inhabit 
the  forests.  Often  when  surrounded  and  finally  destroyed  by 
the  encroachments  of  the  salt-water,  their  bodies  remain  in  the 


*  The  necks  of  these  bottle-shaped  bodies,  which  are  in  fact  only  openings  to 
the  naked  ovary,  have  till  recently  been  mistaken  for  pistils. 


I.     7.  THE  RED  CEDAR.  105 

marshes  for  an  indefinite  period,  the  roosting  places  of  vultures 
and  of  sea  birds,  become  incrusted  with  pulverulent  lichens, 
and  seem  to  moulder  away  like  rocks,  rather  than  decay  like  a 
vegetable  product."* 

Dr.  Bigelowf  expresses  a  doubt  as  to  the  essential  difference 
between  our  red  cedar  and  the  savin  of  Europe,  whose  name  it 
often  bears ;  and  Sir  William  J.  Hooker  refers  both,  without 
hesitation,  to  the  same  species.  The  medicinal  properties  of 
both  are  the  same  ;  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  having  a  stimulat- 
ing effect,  when  used  internally,  in  cases  of  rheumatism  ;  and 
serving  to  continue  the  discharge  from  blisters,  when  used  in 
the  composition  of  a  cerate  for  that  purpose.  The  Baskshirs, 
a  people  of  Russia,  between  the  Volga  and  the  Oural,  use  a 
fumigation  of  savin  for  diseases  of  children,  and  attribute  to  its 
branches,  hung  at  their  doors,  great  virtue  against  witches. 

From  the  exposed  situations  in  which  the  red  cedar  grows, 
it  often  has  to  assume  fantastic  shapes.  On  the  Jerusalem 
road  at  Cohasset,  which  leads  along  the  top  of  a  high  sea-wall 
for  some  distance,  exposed  to  the  winds  from  the  sea,  is  a  tree 

*  Botany  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  II,  717.  I  subjoin  the  following  ex- 
cellent remarks,  from  the  Arator,  as  quoted  in  the  New  England  Farmer,  VIII, 
381,  upon  the  use  of  the  red  cedar  for  the  purpose  of  a  hedge  : — 

"  The  cedar  is  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  purpose  of  live  fences.  It  throws  out 
boughs  near  the  ground,  pliant  and  capable  of  being  woven  into  any  form.  They 
gradually,  however,  become  stiff.  Clipping  will  make  cedar  hedges  extremely 
thick.  No  animal  will  injure  them  by  browsing.  Manured  and  cultivated,  they 
come  rapidly  to  perfection.  The  plants  are  frequently  to  be  found  in  great  abun- 
dance without  the  trouble  of  raising  them.  As  an  evergreen,  they  are  preferable 
to  deciduous  plants  ;  and  they  live  better  than  any  young  trees  I  have  ever  tried." 
They  should  be  planted  with  a  sod  taken  up  of  sufficient  size  to  prevent  injury  to 
the  roots,  between  December  and  the  middle  of  April,  on  each  side  of  a  fence,  the 
plants  and  rows  being  each  two  feet  apart,  and  each  plant  in  one  row  opposite  the 
centre  of  the  interval  between  two  successive  plants  in  the  other  row.  "They 
should  be  topped  at  a  foot  high,  and  not  suffered  to  gain  more  than  three  or  four 
inches  yearly  in  height,  such  boughs  excepted  as  can  be  worked  into  the  fence  at 
the  ground.  Of  these,  great  use  may  be  made  towards  thickening  the  hedge,  by 
bending  them  to  the  ground,  and  covering  them  well  with  earth  in  the  middle, 
leaving  them  growing  to  the  stem  and  their  extremities  exposed.  Thus  they  inva- 
riably take  root  and  fill  up  gaps."— See  Arator  for  more  particulars  as  to  their 
management,  or  New  England  Farmer,  as  above. 

t  Med.  Bot.,  Ill,  50. 
15 


106       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

which  measured  rive  feet  three  inches  in  circumference  at  two 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  four  feet  three  inches  at  five  feet. 
The  trunk  is  much  bent,  and  all  the  branches  violently  twisted 
landward  by  the  northeast  wind,  which  pours  in  upon  it  from 
between  two  hills.  The  smooth  bark  is  nearly  covered  with 
parmelias  and  other  lichens. 

Another,  near  the  same  place,  lies  prostrate  on  the  rock  from 
beneath  which  it  springs.  It  has  a  circumference  of  five  feet 
three  inches  as  near  the  root  as  it  can  be  measured,  and  six  feet 
eight  inches  at  the  largest  part  free  of  branches.  These,  nu- 
merous, crowded  and  matted,  bend  down  like  a  pent-house, 
over  the  side  of  the  rock.  Others  are  seen  on  the  same  road, 
as  if  crouching  behind  walls  ;  rising  higher  and  higher  as  they 
recede  from  the  walls,  and  forming  protected,  sunny  spots  for 
sheep  to  lie  in. 

An  old  tree  of  red  cedar  on  J.  Davis's  land  in  Roxbury,  nearly 
opposite  the  summer  residence  of  E.  Francis,  Esq.,  is  one  foot 
four  inches  in  diameter  at  four  feet  from  the  ground. 

This  tree,  of  which  there  are  many  varieties,  is  found,  in 
America,  from  the  Saskatchawan,  in  Canada,  in  latitude  54°, 
as  far  as  Georgia,  Florida,  Louisiana,  the  Bermudas  and  Bar- 
badoes  Islands,  around  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  beyond  St.  Bar- 
nard's Bay,  and  through  the  Western  States  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  It  abounds  in  Europe  and  northern  Asia,  as  far 
as  the  Crimea  and  the  Oural,  having  thus  a  geographical  range 
equal,  perhaps  superior,  to  any  other  tree  known. 

On  the  branches  of  the  red  cedar  are  often  found  excrescences, 
which,  when  fresh,  are  of  a  tough,  fleshy  consistency,  enclosed 
in  a  reddish  brown  bark.  On  drying,  they  become  of  a  woody 
texture.  On  the  last  day  of  June,  a  mild,  rainy  day,  these  were 
found,  every  where,  enveloped  by  an  orange-colored  substance 
in  threads  an  inch  or  more  long,  and  one  or  two  lines  thick, 
gelatinous,  of  little  consistency,  and  full  of  cells,  each  thread 
issuing  from  a  circular  or  polygonal  depression.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day,  they  were  all  beginning  to  dry  up,  and  in  a  few 
days,  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  gelatinous  substance  remained. 

These  cedar  apples,  as  they  are  called,  are  commonly  sup- 
posed to  be  produced  by  the  action  of  some  insect.     They  are, 


I.     7.  THE  RED  CEDAR.  107 

however,  found  to  have  quite  a  different  origin.  They  make 
their  appearance,  according  to  Schweinitz,  from  whom  this  ac- 
count is  obtained,  on  the  most  delicate  branches  of  the  cedar, 
of  the  size  of  the  head  of  a  pin,  and  gradually  increase  to  the 
diameter  of  one  or  two  inches,  still  traversed  by  the  unaltered 
branch.  Whilst  fresh  and  young,  their  substance  is  like  that  of 
an  unripe  apple,  and  of  a  whitish  green  color  within.  This 
green  tint  soon  changes  to  a  tawny  orange,  and  a  few  whitish 
fibres  are  observed  radiating  and  branching  from  the  base.  They 
are  covered  with  a  bark  of  a  brown  purplish  lilac  color,  which  is 
juiceless,  like  the  peel  of  an  apple.  The  whole  surface  is  dotted 
with  small  polygonal,  usually  pentagonal,  depressions,  which 
are  at  first  plane,  afterwards  slightly  projecting  in  the  centre. 
These  projecting  centres  at  last  burst,  and  there  issue  forth 
from  each,  in  moist  weather,  slender,  gelatinous,  strap-like 
" sporidochia,  about  an  inch  in  length,  of  the  most  beautiful 
orange  color,  adorning,  in  the  course  of  a  single  spring  night, 
the  whole  tree,  as  it  were,  with  the  richest  crop  of  ripe  oranges. 
If  wet  weather  continues  for  many  days,  it  remains  in  this  state 
till  the  ligules  melt  away.  Under  the  influence  of  the  sun, 
however,  they  soon  dry  up,  and  never  revive."  This  gelati- 
nous substance  is  composed  of  the  lengthened  sporidia,  spore- 
vessels,  or  seed-vessels,  of  a  minute  fungus,  called  by  Schweinitz 
Podisbma  macropus.  Dr.  J.  Wyman  has  discovered  one  of  these 
fungi  so  constantly  near  the  lengthened  acerose  leaves,  men- 
tioned above,  that  he  conceives  there  must  be  some  connexion 
between  them,  and  that  the  fungus  is,  perhaps,  the  cause  of  the 
peculiarity  in  the  length  and  shape  of  the  leaf.  I  believe,  how- 
ever, that  acerose  leaves  occur  on  perfectly  healthy  branches. 
The  cedar  apples  continue  to  increase  until  the  sporidochia 
burst  forth  ;  but  after  this  evolution  has  taken  place,  they  cease 
to  grow,  and  begin  to  become  hard  and  dry.  They  last  a  year. 
When  dry  and  old,  they  are  of  a  spongy,  fibrous  texture,  finally 
almost  woody,  as  if  formed  of  fibres  radiating  from  the  base.* 
On  each  of  the  junipers  of  Britain  a  similar  fungus  is  found. 

*  See  a  communication  from  Dr.  J.  Wyman,  in  the  forty -second  number  of  the 
London  Journal  of  Botany,  with  additional  remarks  by  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley. 


108        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Sp.  2.     The  Juniper.     J.  communis.     L. 
Figured  in  Dr.  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany  ;  III,  Plate  44. 

The  stem  of  the  juniper  is  always  completely  prostrate  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  or  sometimes  just  beneath,  with  the 
branches  spreading  in  every  direction,  rooting  and  forming  large 
beds.  It  is  covered  with  a  soft,  reddish,  scaly  bark.  The  ex- 
tremities of  the  branches  are  slightly  ascending.  The  branch- 
lets  are  very  short  and  horizontal,  or  curved  downwards,  with 
a  yellowish  green  bark  which  afterwards  turns  brown,  and 
with  long,  rounded  protuberances  between  the  leaves.  The 
leaves  are  in  whorls  of  three,  short,  linear,  sessile,  rigid,  curved 
at  base,  ending  in  a  sharp  point  or  bristle,  concave  towards  the 
extremity  of  the  branch,  bright  green  on  one  side,  and  on  the 
other,  which,  if  the  branch  were  erect,  would  be  the  upper  side, 
white  or  glaucous  along  the  middle.  The  barren  and  fertile 
flowers  are  on  different  plants.  The  barren  are  in  short,  soli- 
tary aments,  situated  in  the  axil  of  the  leaves,  made  up  of  three 
or  four  whorls  of  scales,  and  set  round  at  base  with  one  or  two 
whorls  of  very  minute  sharp  leaves.  Each  scale  is  shield-like, 
rounded  on  one  side,  and  pointed  on  the  other,  and  protects 
about  four  anthers.  The  fertile  flowers  are  also  axillary,  on  a 
stout  stalk  invested  with  numerous  minute,  pointed  scales,  in 
four  rows.  Each  flower  consists  of  three  fleshy  scales,  adhering 
at  base,  and  separate  only  at  the  triangular  points,  within  which 
are  three  bottle-shaped  bodies  containing  each  a  germ.  The 
fruit  is  a  roundish,  flattened  berry,  of  a  dark  purple  color,  formed 
of  the  enlarged,  fleshy  scales,  whose  points  are  marked  by  three 
slight  prominences,  separated  by  as  many  lines  meeting  at  a 
common  centre.  Each  berry  contains  three  stony  nuts,  envel- 
oped in  a  mealy  substance  nearly  destitute  of  taste. 

The  juniper  seldom  rises  more  than  a  foot  or  two  from  the 
ground,  but  spreads  extensively  in  every  direction,  sometimes 
covering  several  acres  of  the  surface  of  dry  rocky  hills,  and 
giving  great  trouble  to  the  cultivator,  as  it  is  very  difficult  to 
extirpate.  It  is  commonly  destroyed  by  burning,  and  little  use 
is  made  of  the  wood. 


I.     7.  THE  JUNIPER.  109 

In  Europe,  where  there  are  several  varieties,  one  of  which 
exactly  resembles  ours,  the  wood  is  much  valued,  for  its  aro- 
matic odor  and  its  beauty,  it  being  finely  veined,  of  a  yellowish 
brown  color,  and  taking  a  high  polish.  It.  is  used  for  walking- 
sticks,  and  for  various  small  articles  of  the  turner.  "  It  makes 
excellent  fuel,  and  is  used,  in  Scotland  and  Sweden,  for  smoking 
hams.  The  bark  is  made  by  the  Laplanders  into  ropes."* 
The  berries  are  principally  used  in  making  gin,  which  is  a  spirit 
obtained  by  distilling  grain,  flavored  by  an  infusion  of  these 
berries.  "  They  are  used  by  the  peasants  in  some  parts  of 
France,  to  make  a  kind  of  beer,  which  is  called  genivretle.  For 
this  purpose  they  take  equal  parts  of  barley  and  juniper  berries, 
and,  after  boiling  the  barley  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  throw 
in  the  berries.  They  then  pour  the  whole  into  a  barrel  half 
full  of  water,  and  bung  it  closely  for  two  or  three  days ;  after 
which,  they  give  it  air  to  promote  fermentation.  Some  persons 
add  molasses  or  coarse  sugar,  to  make  the  liquor  stronger. 
This  beer  is  ready  to  drink  in  about  a  week,  and  it  is  bright 
and  sparkling,  and  powerfully  diuretic."*  The  berries  are  also 
used  in  medicine.  When  distilled,  they  yield  a  large  quantity 
of  pungent,  volatile  oil,  of  the  peculiar  flavor  which  is  perceived 
in  gin.  In  this  oil  the  medicinal  properties  of  the  berries  are 
supposed  to  reside. f  They  have  decided  diuretic  virtues,  on 
which  account  they  have  been  long  and  extensively  employed 
in  dropsical  affections  and  in  diseases  of  the  kidneys. 

*  Loudon,  IV,  2493. 

t  Bigelow,  Med.  Bot.,  Ill,  45. 


110       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

SECTION    THIRD. 

I.    8.  The  Yews.      Taxus.    L.     Order  Taxacece  of  Lindley. 

By  some  authors,  the  yews,  with  several  associated  genera, 
have  been  separated  from  the  other  evergreens,  and  made  to 
form  a  distinct  family.  They  are  distinguished  by  their  fruits 
not  being  collected  in  cones,  but  each  ovule  growing  singly, 
unprotected  by  hardened  scales ;  so  that  the  mature  fruit  has 
no  resemblance  to  those  of  the  true  pines. 

They  are  natives  of  temperate  climates  in  all  the  quarters  of 
the  globe,  and  are  occasionally  found  in  hot  latitudes ;  but  are 
nowhere  common.  They  are  resinous,  like  the  true  pines,  and 
have  similar  properties.  The  wood  of  the  European  yew  is 
famous  for  its  toughness,  and,  before  the  invention  of  fire-arms, 
was  highly  valued  as  the  best  material  for  bows;  according  to 
Spencer's  descriptive  line — 

"  The  eugh  obedient  to  the  bender's  will ;" 

and  the  name  taxus  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  Greek 
name  for  bow,  toxon,  (Togov.)  The  English  name  is  the  Saxon 
Iw  or  Eow,  hardly  changed. 

The  European  yew,  of  which  ours  is  considered  a  variety,  is 
remarkable  for  the  hardness,  weight,  and  extreme  durability  of 
its  wood,  which  is  red  and  beautifully  veined  and  knotted,  and 
valued  by  the  turner  and  cabinet-maker.  It  is  a  very  long-lived 
tree,  though  of  slow  growth,  of  slower  growth  and  greater  du- 
rability than  any  other  European  tree ;  and  it  is  one  of  those 
trees  which  best  support  the  opinion  of  physiologists,  that  exo- 
genous trees  are,  by  their  nature,  of  indefinite  growth  ;  that 
they  never  die  except  by  a  violent  death.  A  yew  in  Braburne 
churchyard,  in  Kent,  was  nearly  twenty  feet  in  diameter ;  and 
there  is  one  in  the  woods  of  Cliefden,  "  called  the  Hedron  yew, 
still  in  health  and  vigorous,  which  measures  twenty -seven  feet 
in  diameter."*  The  leaves  of  the  yew  are  poisonous  to  cows 
and  horses,  though  eaten  with  impunity  by  many  other  ani- 
mals. 

*  Burnett ;  Outlines,  I,  506. 


I.     S.  THE  YEW.  Ill 


The  Yew.    Ground  Hemlock.    Taxus  Canadensis.    Willdenow. 

The  European  variety  figured  in  Loudon  ;  Arboretum,  VIII,  Plate  293,  and 
on  pages  2074,  5,  7,  8,  9  ;  and  by  Strutt,  in  Sylva  Britannica. 

In  various  parts  of  the  western  counties  of  Massachusetts, 
occurs  a  humble,  almost  prostrate  evergreen,  conspicuous  for 
the  rich  and  deep  green  of  its  foliage.  It  is  the  American  yew. 
The  road  which  leads  from  Pittsfield  to  Williamstown,  after 
following  up  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic  to  its  extremity,  and 
crossing  a  low  ridge  of  hills  which  supply  some  of  its  upper 
streams,  descends  the  northern  declivity  and  enters  the  valley 
of  the  Hoosic,  with  the  magnificent  C4reen  Mountain  range  on 
the  right,  and  the  Hoosic  Mountains  on  the  left.  Every  trav- 
eller will  remember  a  deep  gorge,  where  he  passes  for  some  dis- 
tance under  the  shade  of  lofty  trees,  the  rock  maple,  the  white 
and  yellow  birch,  and  the  hemlock,  by  the  side  of  that  wild  and 
noisy  stream,  not  yet  visible.  On  emerging,  and  getting  a  sight 
of  the  river  and  its  banks,  he  will  perhaps  remember, — if  he  is 
a  lover  of  trees  he  cannot  forget, — on  the  right  bank,  at  the  very 
foot  of  the  mountain,  along  which  the  stream  runs,  and  shaded 
from  the  morning's  sun  by  the  trees  which  clothe  its  side,  a  mass 
or  long  bed,  of  the  most  vivid  and  delicious  green.  The  Amer- 
ican yew  grows  there  in  great  luxuriance..  The  traveller  will 
be  well  rewarded  for  picking  his  way  across  the  rocky  river,  to 
examine  it.  It  delights  in  such  scenes,  and  perhaps  nowhere 
nourishes  in  greater  beauty  than  on  that  spot. 

The  stem  of  the  American  yew  trails  on  the  ground  or  just 
beneath  the  surface,  to  the  distance  of  six  or  eight  feet.  Beneath 
the  surface,  it  is  covered  with  a  smooth  dark  purple  bark ;  where 
it  protrudes  above,  it  takes  a  grayish  brown  color.  The  terminal 
stems  are  slightly  ascending;  irregularly  branched  with  crooked 
branches.  The  recent  green  shoots  are  very  small  and  slender, 
with  two  slightly  projecting  ridges  below  the  base  of  each  leaf. 
The  leaves  arrange  themselves  in  two  rows ;  they  are  close  set, 
half  an  inch  long,  linear,  flattened,  rounded  at  the  base,  and 
very  pointed  at  the  extremity,  with  the  mid-rib  slightly  pro- 


112       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

jecting  on  both  surfaces.     They  are  supported  on  short,  green, 
hair-like  footstalks. 

The  fruit  is  a  kind  of  berry,  of  a  rich  scarlet  color,  formed  of 
the  fleshy  calyx,  embracing  the  dark-colored,  oval  nut.  When 
half  grown,  and  green,  it  has  a  striking  resemblance  to  an  acorn. 

For  the  sake  of  the  very  rich  green  of  the  yew,  it  might  be 
cultivated  beneath  other  trees,  its  natural  habit,  to  take  off  the 
bareness  of  the  surface  of  the  ground;  especially  under  ever- 
greens planted  near  a  dwelling-house. 

The  American  yew  is  often  called  ground  hemlock.  It  is 
found  at  Otis,  and  in  various  other  places  along  the  Green 
Mountains.  A  vigorous  stock  of  it  may  be  seen  at  the  Botanic 
Garden. 

The  wood  of  the  yew  is  of  a  yellowish  brown  color,  very 
heavy,  tough,  and  elastic.  The  Indians  often  made  their  bows 
of  it :— 

"  Their  bows  of  double  fatal  yew." 

This  tree  is  found,  prostrate,  in  Newfoundland,  on  Lake  Hu- 
ron, in  Canada  as  far  as  the  Saskatchawan ;  on  the  banks  of 
the  Columbia,  Mr.  Douglas  assures  us,  it  attains  a  size  equal 
to  that  of  the  yew  of  Europe.* 

*  Hooker,  Flor.  Bot.  Am.  II,  167. 


AMENTACEOUS  PLANTS.  113 


CHAPTER  II. 
AMENTACEOUS  PLANTS.     AMENTACEJE.     Jussieu. 

The  characteristic  of  this  great  division  of  plants  is  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  flowers,  of  one  or  both  sexes,  in  aments  or  cat- 
kins. It  consists  almost  entirely  of  trees,  many  of  them  of  the 
largest  size,  with  a  watery  juice  or  sap,  and  simple,  or  com- 
pound, alternate  leaves,  which  fall  at  the  approach  of  winter, 
and  are  reproduced  after,  or  sometimes  with,  the  flowers  of  the 
succeeding  season.  The  leaves  have  a  mid-rib  extending  from 
•one  extremity  to  the  other,  and  are  accompanied  by  small,  leaf- 
like appendages,  called  stipules,  on  each  side  of  the  footstalk, 
which  expand  with  them,  apparently  for  their  protection,  and 
soon  fall  off;  or,  in  a  few  instances,  remain  as  long  as  the  leaves. 
The  two  sexes  are  in  distinct  flowers,  sometimes  on  the  same, 
sometimes  on  different  trees.  The  male  flowers  are  disposed  in 
aments,  which  are  made  up  of  simple,  stamen-bearing  scales, 
or  of  cup-shaped  leaves  within  or  by  the  scales,  containing  the 
stamens.  The  female  flowers  are  in  aments,  or  are  bud-like, 
or  in  fascicles.  The  wood  is  remarkable  for  its  economical 
value,  sometimes  for  its  strength  and  durability ;  the  bark, 
for  its  thickness,  and  for  the  abundance  of  the  astringent  prin- 
ciple of  tannin  which  it  contains. 

Eight  families,  some  of  them  of  the  greatest  importance,  be- 
long to  this  division : — The  Oak,  the  Hornbeam,  the  Walnut, 
the  Birch,  the  Gale,  the  Plane,  the  Willow,  and  the  Mulberry. 

FAMILY  II.    THE  OAK  FAMILY.    CUPUL1FER&.    Richard. 

The  oak  family,  the  glory  of  the  woods,  and  the  friend  and 
nurse  of  our  race  in  its  infancy,  yields  to  few  others  in  its  im- 
portance to  mankind.  The  oak,  the  chestnut,  the  beech  and 
the  hazel  are  every  where,  throughout  all  temperate  regions, 
known  and  valued.  In  northern  regions  they  are  abundant ; 
and  they  occur,  though  not  in  great  numbers,  in  the  southern 
16 


114       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

hemisphere.  A  few  are  found  upon  the  mountains  within  the 
tropics,  but  are  unknown  in  the  valleys. 

It  was  formerly  considered  a  part  of  the  much  larger  family 
of  Amentaceae.  As  now  constituted,  it  is  a  strictly  natural 
family.  The  trees  which  belong  to  it  are  remarkable  for  their 
thick  and  rugged  bark,  and  for  the  great  abundance  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  tannin  which  it  contains.  They  have  large  and  strong 
roots,  penetrating  very  deep,  or  extending  very  far,  horizontally, 
beneath  the  surface,  and  sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  the  oak, 
both.  The  trunks  are  distinguished  for  their  massiveness,  and 
for  the  weight,  strength,  and,  in  most  cases,  the  durability  of 
their  wood,  and  its  preeminent  importance  in  the  arts.  Their 
branches  are  long  and  irregular,  and  form  a  broad  head  of 
greater  depth  than  belongs  to  the  trees  of  any  other  family. 

The  buds  are  fitted  for  a  climate  with  severe  winters,  the 
plaited  or  folded  leaves  being  covered  by  imbricate,  external 
scales,  and,  often,  still  further  protected  by  a  separate,  downy 
scale,  surrounding  each  separate  leaf.  The  leaves  are  plane, 
and  alternate,  and  usually  supported  by  a  footstalk,  at  the  base 
of  which  are  two  slender  leaflets  or  stipules,  which,  for  the  most 
part,  fall  off,  as  the  leaf  expands. 

The  fruit  is  valuable  as  food  to  man  and  the  animals  depend- 
ant on  him.  The  fruits  of  the  chestnut  and  hazel  have  been 
long  cultivated  on  the  Eastern  continent,  and  much  improved 
in  size  and  quality.  All  are  doubtless  susceptible  of  it ;  but  the 
life  of  these  trees  is  so  long,  in  comparison  with  the  duration  of 
man,  that  experiments  for  this  purpose  must  be  carried  on  by 
successive  generations. 

This  family  includes  trees  and  shrubs  whose  male  and  female 
flowers  are  separate,  but  on  the  same  trunk.  The  male  flow- 
ers, which  appear  early  in  the  spring,  are  in  long  tassels  called 
aments  or  catkins,  made  up  of  a  great  number  of  separate,  cup- 
shaped,  jagged  scales  or  membranous  leaves,  to  the  base  or  side 
of  which,  beneath  or  within,  are  attached  the  stamens,  from 
five  to  twenty  in  number.  The  female  flowers  are  usually 
bud-shaped.  The  ovaries  or  seed-vessels  are  seated  within  a 
leathery  cup  or  involucre,  are  surrounded  by  an  irregularly 
toothed  calyx,  and  tipped  with  several  stigmas.     They  contain 


II.     1.  THE  OAK.  115 

one  or  several  ovules,  only  one  of  which  comes  to  maturity. 
The  fruit  is  a  bony  or  leathery,  one-celled  nut,  partially  or 
entirely  enclosed  in  a  cup.  It  contains  one,  two,  or  three  pen- 
dulous seeds.  The  embryo  is  large,  the  cotyledons  being  the 
halves  of  the  fleshy  fruit.  The  radicle,  or  future  root,  is  mi- 
nute, situated  at  the  top  of  the  nut,  and,  in  germination,  is  the 
first  to  make  its  appearance.* 

The  genera  found  in  Massachusetts,  are  the  oak,  the  chest- 
nut, the  hazel,  and  the  beech. 

II.     1.    The  Oak.     Quercus.     L. 

"  The  TJnwedgeable  and  Gnarled  Oak.': 

By  the  Pelasgians,  who,  before  the  Greeks,  occupied  the  land 
afterwards  so  illustrious  for  the  arts  and  civilization  of  its  in- 
habitants, and  by  the  fathers  of  our  Celtic  ancestors,  the  oak 
was  invested  with  a  sacred  character.  In  the  oak  woods,  which 
gave  him  shelter  and  food,  the  Pelasgian  believed  there  dwelt  a 
deity,  whom,  in  the  awful  solitude,  he  feared  and  worshipped. 
There  were  never  wanting  some  to  avail  themselves  of  this 
superstition,  and  from  the  oak  trees  of  Dodona  came  an  oracular 
voice  which  was  listened  to  with  a  faith  which  accomplished 
its  predictions.  Still  more  sacred  was  the  oak  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Britain  and  Gaul  under  the  Druids. f  The  oak  groves 
were  their  temples,  and  the  mistletoe  which  grew  on  the  oak,  an 
object  of  still  greater  veneration,  was  the  wand  of  the  druid. 
This,  like  every  other  superstition,  must  have  had  its  origin  in 
reason.  And  for  what  better  foundation  need  we  look,  than  the 
majesty,  the  durableness,  the  beauty,  and  the  many  useful  pro- 
perties of  the  oak  ? 

Among  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Europe,  with  whom  most 
of  the  fruits  now  used  were  not  indigenous,  the  acorn  was  an 


"ov 


*  The  cup  of  the  acorn  is  an  involucre,  formed  by  the  growing  together  of  a 
great  number  of  little  bracts;  and  the  acorn  is  a  fruit  formed  by  the  adhesion  of 
an  ovary  to  the  calyx.  One  of  the  ovules  increases  rapidly  after  its  fecundation, 
and  renders  the  others  abortive,  either  by  attracting  the  sap  or  by  obliterating  the 
threads  of  the  pistillate  cord. 

f  The  name  druid  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  a  Celtic  word,  drys,  which, 
like  the  corresponding  word  drus,  (Sqvg),  in  Greek,  signifies  oak. 


116        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

important  article  of  food.*  Even  now,  the  fruit  of  some  species 
of  oak,  is  not  considered  unpleasant,  and  in  the  Morea  and  in 
Asia  Minor,  acorns  are  sold  as  food  at  the  present  day.  The 
elder  Michaux  says,f  that  he,  as  well  as  the  naturalist  Olivier, 
has  verified  this  fact ;  and  he  reports  that,  at  Bagdad,  he  ate 
excellent  acorns,  as  large  and  long  as  one's  finger,  the  produc- 
tion of  Mesopotamia  and  Curdistan.  He  also  ate  with  relish 
the  acorns  of  Spain,  where,  indeed,  they  are  constantly  eaten, 
as  chestnuts  or  walnuts  are  here.  There  are  probably  few  per- 
sons who  have  spent  their  childhood  in  any  country  town  in 
New  England,  who  have  not  found  the  acorns  of  the  white  oak, 
especially  when  roasted,  a  tolerably  pleasant  substitute  for  inac- 
cessible walnuts  and  chestnuts. 

But  if  we  sometimes  reject  the  fruit,  there  are  many  other 
animals,  not  so  fastidious.  The  oak  is  found  growing  naturally 
in  all  parts  of  the  northern  temperate  zone,  in  Europe,  Asia, 
America,  and  the  northern  parts  of  Africa;  and,  in  all,  contri- 
butes to  the  subsistence  of  a  great  variety  of  animals.  In 
Europe,  the  stag,  the  roe-buck,  and  the  wild  boar,  winter  upon 
its  fruit.      In  Asia,   pheasants   and   the  wood -pigeon  share  it 

*  The  Greek  and  Latin  words  which  we  translate  acorn,  comprehended  many 
kinds  of  fruit  which  are  still  considered  agreeable  food.  The  Arabs  are  said  to 
give  the  name  tamar  to  the  fruit  of  the  date-tree,  and,  when  they  wish  to  designate 
any  other  fruit,  they  add  a  specific  name  to  this.  Thus,  the  tamarind,  is  the  Ta- 
mar-Hendi,  or  date  of  India.  So  the  Greek  word  balanos,  (Bal.avug),  signified  not 
only  acorn  but  date,  chestnut,  beech-mast,  and  several  other  fruits  ;  and  the  persons 
employed  to  gather  acorns  were  called  balanista,  (BakanaTai),  as  well  as  those 
who  gathered  dates.  The  Latins  used  the  word  glans,  a  word  of  the  same  origin, 
much  in  the  same  manner.  Alone,  it  signified  the  fruit  of  several  kinds  of  oak. 
The  date  was  called  glans  Phanicea ;  the  chestnut,  glans  Sardiana ;  the  walnut, 
glans  Jovis  or  Juglans.  In  a  similar  manner  is  the  word  gland  used  among  the 
French,  who  call  the  fruit  of  the  oak,  the  beech,  or  the  chestnut  tree,  gland  de 
Chine,  de  Hetre,  de  Chataignier.  And  the  word  acorn  in  our  own  language  seems 
to  have  come  from  the  generic  word,  corn,  kernel, — united  to  aac, — the  old  name  of 
oak.  We  may  then  safely  presume  that  those  Arcadian  acorn  eaters,  (Bakavijqiayoi), 
whom  Plutarch  reports  to  have  been  held  invincible,  because  they  made  their 
principal  food  of  acorns,  did  not  always  confine  themselves  to  the  dry  and  bitter 
nuts  that  we  so  call,  but  indulged  a  reasonable  preference  for  the  dates,  chestnuts 
and  walnuts,  included  by  them  under  the  same  name,  and  which  even  we  some- 
times suffer  to  make  their  appearance  in  an  after  course. 

f  Histoire  des  Chenes,  p.  3. 


II.     1.  THE  OAK.  117 

with  animals  of  the  deer  kind.*     In  our  own  native  forests, 


the  bear,  the  racoon,  the  squirrel,  the  wild  pigeon,  and  the 
wild  turkey,  delight  in  various  kinds  of  acorn,  and  the  hardly- 
less  wild  swine  fatten  upon  them. 

In  England,  whose  oak  forests  are  now  one  of  the  sources  of 
national  wealth  and  naval  supremacy,  the  tree  was  once  prized 
only  for  the  acorns,  which  were  the  chief  support  of  those  large 
herds  of  swine,  whose  flesh  formed  so  considerable  a  part  of  the 
food  of  the  Saxons.  "Woods  of  old,"  says  Burnett, f  "were 
valued  according  to  the  number  of  hogs  they  could  fatten,  and 
so  rigidly  were  the  forest  lands  surveyed,  that  in  ancient  records, 
such  as  the  Doomes-day  Book,  woods  are  mentioned  of  a  "sin- 
gle hog."  The  right  of  feeding  hogs  in  woods,  called  Pannage, 
formed,  some  centuries  ago,  cne  of  the  most  valuable  kinds  of 
property.  With  this  right  monasteries  were  endowed,  and  it 
often  constituted  the  dowry  of  the  daughters  of  the  Saxon  kings." 

The  oak  is  peculiarly  subject  to  attacks  of  insects,  which 
cause  a  great  many  varieties  of  galls ;  some  kind  being  found 
on  almost  every  part  of  the  tree.  These  were  once  supposed  to 
be  the  fruit  of  the  tree.  The  most  important  is  that  known  in 
commerce  as  the  gallnut,  and  imported  in  large  quantities  into 
this  and  other  countries  from  Aleppo,  and  other  ports  in  the 
Levant.  This  is  produced  by  the  puncture  of  an  insect  called 
by  Olivier,  in  his  travels,  Diplolepis  gallce  tinctorial,  which 
deposits  an  egg  in  each  puncture,  which  immediately  causes  a 
swelling  about  the  size  of  a  walnut.  The  oak,  on  which  this 
takes  place,  is  a  small,  shrubby  species,  called  the  Q.  infectoria, 
common  in  all  parts  of  Asia  Minor  and  Syria,  and  valuable 
only  for  the  gallnuts.  Oak  galls  are  among  the  most  powerful 
vegetable  astringents  known,  and  form  the  basis  of  many  styptics 
and  astringent  medicines.  An  infusion  of  them  is  said  to  be 
the  best  antidote  for  an  over-dose  of  ipecacuanha. % 

An  insect  found  on  a  species  of  oak  growing  in  the  Levant, 

*  Histoire  des  Chenes,  p.  4.  f  Outlines,  532. 

%  Burnett,  Outlines,  535.  Galls  contain  a  peculiar  astringent  principle,  called 
gallic  acid,  which  strikes  a  deep  purple  color,  gradually  becoming  black  with  the 
soluble  salts  of  iron.  This  property  renders  them  a  valuable  dye-stuff.  Hence 
their  request  with  dyers.     They  also  form  the  basis  of  common  black  ink. 


118       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

called  Quercus  cocci/era,  was  for  many  ages  used  for  the  pur- 
pose of  communicating  crimson  and  scarlet  colors.  This  con- 
tinued to  be  the  case  until  its  place  was  taken  by  cochineal, 
the  product  of  another  similar  insect,  found  on  a  species  of 
cactus  which  is  a  native  of  Mexico. 

As  growing  in  New  England,  none  of  the  forest  trees  have 
more  numerous  enemies  of  the  insect  race  than  the  oaks.  Their 
leaves  are  fed  on  by  the  slug-caterpillar,  (Limacodes ;  Harris's 
Report  on  Insects,  p.  304,)  and  by  the  caterpillar  of  the  hag- 
moth,  {Limacbdes  pithecium,  ib.  304) ;  they  are  rolled  up  and 
destroyed  by  the  leaf-rollers,  (  Torlrices,  ib.  347) ;  and  devoured 
by  the  scarred  Melolontha.  {Melolontha  variolosa,  ib.  30),  a 
beautiful  beetle  of  a  light  brown  color.  The  juices  of  the  small 
twigs  are  sucked  by  the  white-lined  tree-hopper,  (Membracis 
univittata,  ib.  180) ;  their  leaves  are  sometimes  stripped  by  the 
tent-caterpillar,  (Clisiocampa  sylvatica,  ib.  271);  by  those  of 
Petasia  ministra,  (Drury,  II,  28) :  by  those  from  which  pro- 
ceed the  beautiful  Luna  and  PolypMmus  moths  * ;  by  the 
tawny  caterpillar  of  the  large  Ceralocampa  imperialism  (ib.  i, 
17 ;  plate  ix,  1  and  2) ;  by  the  stinging  caterpillar  of  the  rare 
Satumia  Maia,  (Harris,  285)  ;  and  more  extensively  than  by 
any  other,  by  the  oak  caterpillar,  (Dryocampa,  ib.  291). 

The  oak-pruner,  (Elaphidion  putdlor,  ib.  81,)  a  long-horned 
beetle  of  a  dull -brown  color,  lays  its  egg  in  the  axil  of  a  leaf, 
or  of  a  small  twig,  near  the  extremity  of  a  branch.  The  grub, 
when  hatched,  penetrates  to  the  pith,  and  then  continues  its 
course  towards  the  body  of  the  tree,  devouring  the  pith,  and 
forming  a  cylindrical  burrow  several  inches  in  length.  It  ends 
by  severing  the  wood  of  the  branch,  leaving  it  to  be  broken  off 
and  precipitated  to  the  ground  by  the  autumnal  winds.  By  this 
untimely  priming,  the  ground  is  often  strown  with  branches, 
some  of  them  an  inch  in  diameter  and  five  or  six  feet  in  length. 
If  these  are  collected  in  autumn  and  burnt  before  the  ensuing 
spring,  the  development  of  the  beetles  is  prevented,  and  future 
evil  guarded  against. 

*  Harris,  pp,  282 — 3.  Dr.  Harris  is  of  opinion  that  the  strong  silk,  forming  the 
large  cocoons  of  these  insects,  might  be  substituted  for  that  of  the  common  silk- 
worm. 


II.     1.  THE  OAK.  119 

A  more  dangerous  enemy  is  fortunately  of  much  more  rare 
occurrence.  The  oak  woods  in  some  parts  of  the  Old  Colony, 
are,  at  distant  intervals,  alarmed  by  the  shrill,  discordant  rattle  of 
the  seventeen- year  Cicada  or  locust.*  They  sometimes  come 
out  of  the  ground  in  such  multitudes  as,  by  their  weight,  to 
bend  and  even  break  the  limbs  of  the  trees.  Their  long  sub- 
terranean residence  has  sufficed  for  the  other  ends  of  existence ; 
they  come  to  the  light  only  to  propagate  and  die.  Their  eggs 
are  deposited  in  great  numbers  in  the  pith  of  the  smaller 
branches  of  the  oak,  which  are  thus  destroyed ;  are  broken  off  by 
the  winds  or  by  their  own  weight,  and  remain  hanging  by  the 
bark,  giving  a  gloomy  appearance  to  the  woods;  or  they  fall  with 
their  withered  foliage  to  the  earth.  This,  if  annually  repeated, 
would  be  a  fatal  scourge.  The  long  periods  which  intervene 
before  the  return  to  the  surface  of  the  succeeding  generation, 
alone  preserve  the  forests  from  entire  destruction. 

Still  more  fatal  are  the  ravages  of  those  insects  which  invade 
the  trunks  of  the  oak  trees.  The  larva?  of  one  of  the  Buprestian 
beetles,  (Chrysobothris  femorata,  ib.  4 — 5),  bore  into  the  trunk 
of  the  white  oak ;  those  of  the  timber  beetles,  {hymixylon  and 
Hyleccetus,  ib.  52),  make  long  cylindrical  burrows  in  the  solid 
wood  of  the  oak,  while  standing  in  health ;  grubs  of  the  northern 
Brenihus,  (Arrhenbdes  septentrionalis,  ib.  61),  make  similar  bur- 
rows in  the  trunk  of  trees  which  are  beginning  to  decay,  and 
especially  in  those  that  have  been  cut  down,  which  are  attacked 
during  the  first  summer  after  they  are  felled ;  the  larva?  of  the 
gray-sided  Curculio,  (Pandeleieins  hilaris,  ib.  62),  make  their 
habitation  in  the  trunk  of  the  white  oak ;  and  the  grubs  of  the 
horn-bug,  (Lucamis  capreolus,  ib.  40),  live  in  the  trunk  and 
roots  of  old  oaks,  as  well  as  in  those  of  several  other  species  of 
trees. 

The  white  oak  is  liable  to  the  attacks  of  an  insect,  which 
punctures  the  small  branches  and  introduces  an  egg,  which  has 
such  an  effect  upon  the  juices  of  the  tree,  as  to  form  upon  the 

*  Cicada  septendecim.  Harris's  Report  on  Insects,  pp.  167—175.  See  the  pas- 
sages here  referred  to  for  a  most  interesting  account  of  these  insects.  Though 
called  locusts  in  this  country,  they  are  very  different  from  the  locusts  of  history, 
which  are  grasshoppers. 


120       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

side  of  the  branch  a  spherical  gall  of  one-fifth  to  one-quarter  of 
an  inch  in  diameter.  These  are  found  single,  or  two  or  three 
together,  near  the  extremities  of  the  smaller  branches.  If  cut 
open  in  winter,  they  expose  a  worm  or  chrysalis  folded  up 
within  a  bony  case. 

For  an  account  of  the  modes  that  have  been  devised  to  pre- 
vent or  remedy  the  mischief  done  by  so  many  enemies,  I  must 
refer  to  the  Report  of  Dr.  Harris,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for 
almost  the  whole  of  what  I  have  given  above,  and  who  has 
done  more  than  all  other  persons  in  the  investigation  of  the 
difficult  subject  of  the  habits  and  ravages  of  the  insects  of  Massa- 
chusetts ;  more,  indeed,  by  original  observation,  than  has  ever 
before  been  done,  by  any  person,  in  any  country  or  State  what- 
ever. Care  and  precaution  may  do  something;  but  against 
many  of  these  insects  the  unassisted  efforts  of  men  can  accom- 
plish very  little.  Most  of  the  birds,  probably  all  of  them,  the 
smaller  quadrupeds,  and  all  the  reptiles  come  to  our  aid  and 
wage  perpetual  war  upon  the  insect  tribes.  The  woodpeckers 
and  the  creepers  do  what  they  can  to  keep  the  bark  of  trees  free ; 
the  fly -catchers  take  care  of  the  leaves ;  a  single  flock  of  wild 
pigeons  will  do  more  than  an  army  of  foresters  against  the  large 
solitary  caterpillars  which  infest  the  oak  forests. 

The  bark  of  most  species  of  oak  contain  the  tannin  princi- 
ple. The  cups  of  the  Velani  oak  are  used  for  dyeing  and  for 
tanning.  Both  purposes  are  effected  by  the  bark  of  our  com- 
mon black  or  yellow  bark  oak.  The  bark  of  a  species  of  oak 
which  grows  in  Spain,  Quercus  subcr,  furnishes  the  invaluable 
substance,  cork,  which  is  used  in  the  countries  where  it  is 
produced,  not  only  for  the  purposes  to  which  we  apply  it,  but 
also  as  a  lining  and  a  carpet  in  brick  or  stone  habitations. 

The  bark  of  most  of  our  oaks  is  useful  to  the  tanner,  particu- 
larly that  of  the  white  oak,  the  chestnut  oaks,  and  others  of  the 
same  group. 

Yet  the  great  value  of  the  oak.  in  all  countries,  is  for  its  wood. 
It  is  applied  to  a  greater  variety  of  important  purposes  than 
that  of  any  other  tree.  With  the  exception  of  the  teak  tree,  it 
forms  the  best  ship  timber  known ;  and,  for  this  purpose,  the 
white  oak  is,  perhaps,  equal  to  the  English  oak,  and  surpassed 


H.     1.  THE  OAK.  121 

only  by  the  live  oak.  It  was  used  for  the  frames  of  buildings, 
in  preference  to  any  other  timber,  until  it  became  too  scarce 
and  dear.  For  strength,  hardness,  toughness,  and  durableness 
united,  it  is  unsurpassed,  although  each  of  these  properties  sin- 
gly is  found  in  a  greater  degree  in  some  other  wood.  It  is 
almost  indispensable  in  the  manufacture  of  implements  of  hus- 
bandry, and  in  all  kinds  of  wheel-work.  It  makes  the  most 
valuable  tables  and  chairs,  and  it  would  be  used  by  the  joiner, 
on  account  of  its  superior  beauty,  for  the  finishing  of  houses, 
were  it  not  for  the  property  which  shows  its  superiority,  its 
hardness.  When  employed  for  ornamental  uses,  the  wood 
should  be  cut  obliquely  to  exhibit  the  reddish  silver  grain. 
As  an  ornament  to  the  landscape,  or  as  a  single  object,  no  other 
tree  is  to  be  compared  with  it,  in  every  period  of  its  growth,  for 
picturesqueness,  majesty,  and  inexhaustible  variety  of  beauty. 
The  main  root  of  the  oak,  where  the  soil  is  favorable,  de- 
scends to  a  great  depth,  compared  with  its  height,  especially  in 
young  trees,  and  it  stretches  to  a  distance  horizontally,  and  that 
at  a  considerable  depth,  equal  to  the  spread  of  the  branches, 
thus  taking  a  stronger  hold  of  the  earth  than  any  other  tree  of 
the  forest.  It  does  not  often  tower  upwards  to  so  magnificent  a 
height  as  many  other  trees,  but,  when  standing  alone,  it  throws 
out  its  mighty  arms  with  an  air  of  force  and  grandeur,  which 
have  made  it  every  where  to  be  considered  the  fittest  emblem  of 
strength  and  power  of  resistance.  And  deservedly ; — no  tree  in 
New  England  is  to  be  compared  to  the  oak  in  this  respect,  save 
the  tupelo,  and  that  in  very  rare  instances.  Nothing  gave  so 
vivid  an  impression  of  the  irresistible  force  of  the  wind,  in  the 
great  hurricane  of  1815,  as  its  laying  prostrate  even  the  oak. 
For,  commonly,  the  oak  braves  the  storm,  to  the  last,  without 
yielding,  better  than  any  other  tree.  The  limbs  go  out  at  a  great 
angle,  and  stretch  horizontally  to  a  vast  distance.  This,  with 
the  great  size  of  the  limbs,  is  its  striking  character,  and  what 
gives  it  its  peculiar  appearance.  They  do  not  always  go 
straight  out,  but  crook  and  bend,  to  right  and  left,  upwards 
and  downwards,  abruptly  or  with  a  gentle  sweep.  The  smaller 
branches  preserve,  in  a  considerable  degree,  the  character  of  the 
limbs,  and  the  spray  varies  with  the  species.  So  do  the  leaves ; 
17 


122       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

although,  in  the  several  species  of  the  same  group,  there  is  a 
striking  similarity,  and  I  have  gathered  from  the  same  stock, 
leaves  which  would  seem  to  belong  to  several  different  species. 
Indeed,  the  nearly  allied  species  are  not  to  be  distinguished  by 
their  leaves  alone,  viewed  at  any  one  season. 

The  oak  is  distinguished  from  all  other  trees  by  its  acorn,  for 
which  the  fruit  of  no  other  tree  can  be  mistaken.  The  leaves  of 
all  the  species  are  larger  towards  the  extreme  end ;  in  some,  they 
are  more  or  less  deeply  lobed,  with  rounded  or  blunt  lobes  ;  in 
others,  toothed  with  large,  round  teeth ;  in  others,  deeply  cut, 
with  the  divisions  terminating  in  a  long,  bristle-like  point,  called 
a  mucro.  All  the  leaves  are  more  or  less  downy  while  young, 
and  many  retain  the  down  on  the  lower  surface,  when  mature. 
The  leaves  of  young  plants,  and  of  sprouts  from  the  stumps  of 
trees,  are  usually  much  more  entire,  as  well  as  larger,  than 
those  on  the  mature  tree.  They  come  out  late,  and  with  them, 
or  just  before,  the  flowers.  These  differ  less  than  the  fruit,  by 
which  alone  can  some  of  the  species  be  satisfactorily  distin- 
guished. 

The  stipules  are  membranaceous  and  perishing.  The  oak 
has  but  little  medulla,  but  it  continues  in  very  old  trees. 

The  flowers  of  both  sexes  are  on  one  plant ;  the  sterile  disposed 
in  long,  slender,  pendulous  catkins,  which  are  in  groups  ;  the  fer- 
tile flowers  in  a  bud-like,  scaly  cup.  The  ovary  or  seed-vessel 
of  the  fertile  flower  is  divided  into  three  compartments  or  cells, 
in  each  of  which  are  two  embryo  seeds  or  ovules  ;  but  only 
one  ovule  in  one  of  the  cells  comes  to  perfection;  hence  the 
fruit  is  a  one-celled,  one-seeded  acorn,  surrounded  at  base  by 
the  enlarged,  scaly  cup. 

The  acorns  of  the  different  species  differ  in  being,  long  and 
narrow,  or  short  and  round,  pointed  or  blunt,  on  footstalks  or 
sessile,  and  particularly  in  the  scales  of  the  cup  in  which  the 
acorn  is  set.  The  acorns  of  some  species  come  to  maturity  in 
a  single  season,  but  a  considerable  part  of  the  New  England 
species  require  two  seasons  to  ripen.  There  is  scarcely  any 
seed  in  which  the  vitality  is  so  transient,  at  least  when  the  acorn 
is  preserved  artificially.  Few  of  them  will  germinate  after 
having  been  kept  a  year.     Most  of  the  oaks,  those  particularly 


II.     1.  THE  OAK.  123 

which  belong  to  the  white  oak  group,  are  shy  bearers.  Those 
allied  to  the  red  oak  bear  more  freely.  It  is,  however,  uncom- 
mon to  find  any  bearing  abundantly,  two  years  in  succession. 
Most  of  them,  except  the  shrub  oaks,  must  be  trees  of  consider- 
able height  and  age  before  they  begin  to  bear.  But  they 
become  more  fruitful  as  they  grow  older,  and  continue  bearing 
to  the  last. 

The  rate  of  growth  of  the  oak  is  very  different  in  the  different 
species,  and  depends  much,  like  that  of  every  other  tree,  on  the 
soil,  and  on  the  exposure.  If  raised  from  the  acorn,  it  requires 
much  shelter  when  young,  and  on  all  except  very  rich  soils, 
makes  slow  progress  at  first,  although  stumps  of  young  and 
vigorous  trees  throw  up  shoots  often  of  five  or  six  feet  in  a  sin- 
gle year.  As  it  is  slow  in  the  early  stages  of  its  growth,  it 
continues  to  make  steady  progress  for  many  years,  and  requires 
one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  to  come  to  perfec- 
tion.* From  measurements  upon  a  great  number  of  trees  re- 
cently felled,  and  from  many  specimens  of  the  wood,  of  all  sizes 
and  from  various  soils,  I  believe  that  the  average  growth  of  the 
white  oak  is  not  far  from  two  inches  in  diameter  in  ten  years, 
after  it  has  been  growing  thirty  or  forty  years ;  the  circles  of 
growth,  after  that  age,  being  about  ten  in  an  inch.f  Before 
that  age  the  growth  is  more  rapid,  but  extremely  various.  An 
oak  of  thirty  years  may  be  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  forty 
feet  high.  At  or  below  this  age  it  is  commonly  considered  most 
profitable  to  fell  for  fuel ;  and  it  doubtless  is  so  when  it  is  to  be 
renewed  from  the  stump.  But  an  easy  calculation  shows,  that, 
although  its  apparent  growth  after  that  age  is  less  than  before, 
the  real  growth  of  each  individual  tree  is  greater.  In  ten  years 
more  it  will  be  ten  inches  in  diameter.     Two  inches  will  have 

*  De  Candolle  found  the  circles  in  very  old  oaks,  cut  in  the  forest  of  Fontaine- 
bleau,  continued  to  increase  to  the  thirtieth  or  fortieth  year ;  from  thirty,  to  fifty 
or  sixty,  diminished  a  little  ;  between  fifty  and  sixty  became  nearly  regular,  and 
so  continued  to  the  end.  Past  sixty,  the  increase  is  eight  to  ten  lines  in  diameter, 
in  ten  years ;  two  or  three  inches  when  between  twenty  and  thirty, — indicating  a 
cutting  every  thirty  years. 

t  I  give  here  memoranda  of  some  of  the  oldest  of  these  trees.  On  one,  I  counted 
125  rings  of  growth  in  11£  inches;  on  another,  147  rings  in  12£  inches;  on  the 
third,  150  rings  in  2 Id  inches  ;  on  the  fourth,  179  rings  in  21  inches. 


124        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

been  added  throughout  the  whole  forty  feet,  though  not  much, 
probably,  will  have  been  added  to  the  height.  Now,  as  the 
growth  must  be  estimated  by  the  squares  of  the  diameters,  the 
solid  wood  in  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk  will  have  increased 
in  the  proportion  of  100  to  64.  In  the  next  ten  years,  it  will 
increase  in  the  proportion  of  144  to  100 ;  in  the  next  ten,  in  that 
of  196  to  144;  and  in  the  next,  in  that  of  256  to  196.  The 
numbers  after  them  will  be  324,  400,  484.  The  successive  ad- 
ditions, in  periods  of  ten  years,  will  be  as  the  numbers  36,  44, 
52,  60,  68,  76,  84,  92,  100.  A  tree  of  thirty  years,  therefore,  in 
ten  years,  will  increase  56  per  cent.  ;  in  the  next  similar  period, 
68  per  cent. ;  in  the  third,  79 ;  in  the  fourth,  93 ;  in  the  fifth, 
106.  That  is,  an  oak  of  eighty  years  of  age  grows  more  in  ten 
years  than  it  did  in  the  first  thirty  ;  and  an  oak  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  more  than  in  the  first  forty.  When,  therefore, 
it  is  desirable  to  keep  the  growth  for  timber,  the  process  of 
thinning  may  be  continued  with  strict  economy,  as  the  increase 
of  the  thirty  or  forty  trees  left  on  the  acre,  will  counterbalance, 
in  a  great  degree,  the  loss  in  numbers.  Some  acres,  in  every 
large  forest,  should  be  thus  left,  for  the  use  of  the  ship-builder. 

Those  species  of  oak  most  analogous  to  our  white  oak,  are 
known,  in  Europe,  to  continue  to  grow  and  flourish  for  cen- 
turies. There  are  oaks  in  Britain,  which  are  believed  to  have 
been  old  trees  at  the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror.  Some 
are  known,  which  are  supposed  to  be  one  thousand  years  old. 

The  number  of  species  of  the  oak  known  to  botanists,  is  very 
great.  In  1823,  the  whole  number  was  one  hundred  and  thirty ; 
(Dictionnaire  Classique  d'Histoire  Naturelle;)  since  which  time 
a  considerable  number  has  been  added.  Loudon  estimates  them 
at  present  at  one  hundred  and  fifty.  This  number  is  probably 
over-stated,  as  many  that  are  considered  species,  will  doubtless 
be  found  to  be  varieties.  Sprengel  enumerates  more  than  one 
hundred  oaks,  the  larger  part  natives  of  this  continent.  The 
elder  Michaux  described  twenty,  the  younger,  twenty-six,  as 
natives  of  North  America.  Pursh  described  thirty -four  as  be- 
longing to  North  America.  Nuttall,  in  1817,  mentioned  thirty- 
two  as  belonging  to  North  America.  Eaton  describes  thirty -six 
as  found  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     Beck,  twenty-three,  as 


II.     1.  THE  OAK.  125 

belonging  to  the  Northern  and  Middle  States.  I  have  found 
eleven  in  Massachusetts,  growing  in  considerable  numbers.  I 
have  probably  overlooked  several,  but  they  must  be  stragglers. 
Two  only  are  natives  of  Britain ;  eight  of  France,  (Flore  Fran- 
caise,)  though  the  number  is  increased  by  some  botanists  to 
fourteen.  Twenty-four  species  were  found  by  Humboldt  and 
Bonpland  in  Mexico ;  half  that  number  have  been  found  in  the 
temperate  regions  of  India,  and  sixteen  in  Java,  (Loudon,  III, 
1722.)  The  oak  is  found  in  the  northern  regions  of  Africa,  but 
is  abundant  only  in  the  temperate  regions  of  both  continents, 
avoiding  equally  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold. 

The  most  natural  arrangement  of  the  oaks,  seems  to  be  that 
adopted  by  the  elder  Michaux.  He  divided  them  into  two 
sections,  according  to  the  character  of  the  leaves :  the  first, 
comprising  those  species  whose  leaves  are  destitute  of  flexible 
points  or  bristles ;  the  second,  those,  the  segments  of  whose 
leaves  are  mucronate,  or  terminate  in  bristles.  A  very  import- 
ant difference  is  also  observed  in  the  length  of  time  required 
for  the  blossom  to  bring  its  fruit  to  maturity.  Most  of  the  oaks 
of  Europe  blossom  in  the  spring,  and  mature  their  fruit  the  same 
season ;  and  this  is  the  case  with  those  of  the  American  oaks, 
which  belong  to  the  first  section.  In  those  included  in  the  sec- 
ond, on  the  contrary,  the  fertile  blossom  makes  its  appearance 
in  the  axil  of  the  leaves  on  the  new  shoot,  and  remains  a 
whole  year  without  change.  In  the  spring  of  the  second  year, 
after  a  new  shoot  has  been  produced,  and  new  barren  and  fer- 
tile flowers  have  made  their  appearance,  it  is,  probably  for  the 
first  time,  fecundated,  and  then  begins  to  increase,  and  brings  its 
fruit  to  maturity  eighteen  months  after  its  first  appearance.  In 
this  case,  the  fruit  seems  not  to  be  axillary,  as  the  leaves  of 
the  previous  year,  in  whose  axils  it  grew,  have  fallen. 

Most  of  the  trees  which  belong  to  the  first  section,  possess 
greater  value,  on  account  of  the  excellent  properties  of  their 
timber,  than  those  of  the  second. 


126        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


FIRST    SECTION. 

Leaves  not  mucronate ;  fruit  supported  on  footstalks  ;  fructifica- 
tion annual. 

This  includes  the  White  Oak,  the  Swamp  White  Oak,  the 
Chestnut  Oak,  the  Rock  Chestnut  Oak,  the  Over  Cup  White 
Oak,  the  Post  Oak,  and  the  Little  Chincapin  Oak. 


SECOND    SECTION. 
Leaves  mucronate  ;  fruit  nearly  sessile  ;  fructification  biennial. 
Black  Oak,  Scarlet  Oak,  Red  Oak,  and  Little  Bear  Oak. 


TABLE    OF    THE    SPECIES. 


Leaves  not  mucronate.  2. 
mucronate.  5. 

Leaves  lobed.  3. 
toothed.  4. 


{Leaves  nearly  regular,  acorn  cup  warty.      White  Oak.   1st. 
deeply  lobed,  very  irregular,  cup  fringed.      Over  cup.  2d. 
■ upper  lobes  dilated,  star-like,  very  rough.    Post.  3d. 

f  Leaves  wedge-sbaped  at  base,  much  larger  towards  the  end,  with  one  deep 

)      sinus  on  each  side.     Swamp   White.  4th. 
Leaves  nearly  regular,  long  and  narrow.      Chestnut.  5th. 
larger   towards   the    end,    entire,    rounded    at   the    extremity. 

Rock.  6th. 
Leaves  larger  towards  the  end,  waved  or  toothed  ;  a  shrub.     Chinca- 
pin. 7th. 

Leaves  deeply  sinuate,  downy  beneath  ;  bark  yellow  within,  very  bitter. 

Black.  8th. 
Leaves  more  deeply  sinuate,  smooth  beneath  ;  bark  reddish  within,  less 
5.  -i      bitter.     Scarlet.  9th. 

I  Leaves  less  deeply  sinuate,  lance-shaped  ;  cup  very  broad,  scales  close. 

j       Red.     10  th. 

(_  Leaves  somewhat  lyrate,  or  4-or  6-sided  ;  a  shrub.     Bear.  11th. 


II.     1.  THE  WHITE  OAK.  127 


Sp.  1.     The  White  Oak.     Quercus  alba.     Linn. 

Leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  Plate  1  ;  the  tree,  in  Loudon'8 

Arboretum  ;  Plate  69.  E. 
In  Audubon's  Birds  of  America,  Plate  107,  the  leaves  are  figured,  with  the 

Canada  Jay,  and  in  Plate  147 ;  and  leaves,  flowers  and  fruit  in  the  first  plate 

in  this  volume. 

Not  a  prince, 
In  all  that  proud  old  world  beyond  the  deep, 
E'er  wore  his  crown  as  loftily  as  he 
"Wears  the  green  coronal  of  leaves  with  which 
Thy  hand  has  graced  him. — Bryant's  Forest  Hymn. 

The  white  oak  rises  from  many  strong  roots,  which  swell 
out,  near  the  base,  above  the  surface,  and  penetrate  deep  and 
to  a  great  distance  beneath.  It  is  two,  to  four  or  five  feet  in 
diameter.  The  perpendicular  trunk,  in  most  of  the  trees  which 
are  standing  in  our  fields  and  pastures,  is  not  long.  In  old 
forests,  it  sometimes  reaches  the  height  of  sixty  or  eighty  feet, 
and  even  more.  Limbs  very  large,  diverging  at  a  very  large 
but  not  uniform  angle,  from  a  broad,  gnarled,  massive  junc- 
ture. Some  of  them  go  out  horizontally,  variously  contorted, 
much  and  variously  branched.  The  higher  limbs  make  a 
sharper  angle.  They  all  often  make  considerable  bends,  in 
any  direction,  upwards,  downwards,  or  on  either  side.  Spray 
of  many  twigs,  at  right  angles,  in  all  directions,  miniatures  of 
the  larger  limbs.  The  bark  on  the  trunk  is  of  a  very  light  ash- 
color,  whence  it  is  universally  known,  and  always  called  the 
white  oak.  And  it  is  the  only  oak  which  has  but  one  name. 
The  bark  naturally  breaks  into  small,  irregular,  four-sided 
plates,  which  often  easily  scale  off.  The  leaves,  on  short  peti- 
oles, are  four  to  six  inches  long  and  two  or  three  wide.  They 
are  pubescent  beneath  when  young,  but  smooth  when  old ;  the 
upper  surface  of  a  bright,  shining  green,  the  lower  paler  or  glau- 
cous, in  substance  almost  coriaceous.  They  are  always  deeply 
divided  into  lobes,  about  three  or  four  on  each  side,  which  are 
oblong,  rounded  or  obtuse,  rarely  subdivided.  The  leaves  dif- 
fer very  much,  in  different  localities.  Sometimes  the  lobes  are 
almost  linear,  making  skeleton  leaves.     Sometimes  the  leaves 


128       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

are  perfectly  and  beautifully  regular.  These  differences  mark 
varieties  which,  when  trees  come  to  be  as  highly  valued  and  as 
carefully  studied  here,  as  they  are  in  England,  will  receive  names. 
I  have  met  with  many  of  these  varieties  which  would  be  worth 
cultivating  for  their  peculiar  beauty.  In  autumn,  the  leaves 
turn  to  a  pleasant  purple  or  violet  color,  very  different  from 
that  of  most  other  leaves.  Many  of  these  remain  on  through 
the  winter,  making  in  this  tree  the  nearest  approach  to  the 
evergreen  oaks  of  warmer  climates.  The  buds  are  small,  short, 
rounded,  and  invested  with  several  indistinct  scales.  The  male 
flowers  are  on  a  long  and  very  slender  thread,  each  cup  con- 
taining from  four  to  seven  stamens. 

The  acorns  vary  much  in  size  and  sweetness,  and  somewhat 
in  shape.  They  are  usually  about  an  inch  long,  ovoid,  oblong, 
in  a  shallow,  somewhat  flattened,  hemispherical  cup,  of  a  gray- 
ish color,  rough  externally,  with  roundish  tubercles.  They 
grow  single  or  in  pairs,  on  a  footstalk,  from  half  an  inch  to  an 
inch  long,  fixed  to  the  years'  shoots. 

The  fruit  is  seldom  abundant,  not  oftener,  it  is  commonly 
thought,  than  once  in  seven  years ;  and  I  have  looked  through  an 
extensive  forest  of  white  oaks,  at  the  season  when  the  fruit  was 
to  be  expected,  without  finding  an  acorn.  The  fruit  is  eagerly 
sought  for  by  many  wild  animals,  and  is  not  unpleasant  to  the 
taste,  especially  when  roasted. 

Michaux  says,  that  he  found  the  white  oak  as  far  north  as 
the  latitude  of  46°  20';  as  far  south  as  latitude  28°  11/,  and 
towards  the  west  to  the  country  of  the  Illinois.  We  know  that 
it  extends  much  farther  to  the  west.  He  thinks  it  more  multi- 
plied in  the  western  parts  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  than  in 
any  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Douglas  considers 
Lake  Winipeg  its  northern  limit,  and  says,  that  it  attains  there 
a  height  of  ten  to  twenty  feet. 

It  is  found  in  every  part  of  this  State,  although  very  rarely  in 
the  western,  where  its  place  is  taken  by  the  rock  maple,  and  most 
abundantly,  and  of  the  largest  size,  in  Essex  County.  It  grows 
well  on  a  great  variety  of  soils,  but  best  on  a  moderately  high, 
moist,  loamy  soil,  particularly  in  sheltered  situations,  as  on  the 
southern  sides  of  hills.     No  tree  is  more  affected  by  the  wind 


II.     1.  THE  WHITE  OAK.  129 

in  the  early  stages  of  its  growth ;   and  it  every  where  seems  to 
shrink  from  the  sea  breeze. 

The  wood  of  the  white  oak  unites  the  properties  of  hardness, 
toughness,  and  durability,  in  a  greater  degree  than  any  other 
native  wood.  It  is  of  a  reddish  hue,  and  is  very  heavy,  com- 
pact and  close-grained.  The  interval  between  the  circles  of 
growth,  is,  however,  porous,  the  pores  sprinkled  with  brilliant, 
resinous-looking  points.  The  plates  of  silver  grain,  radiating 
from  the  pith,  are  thicker  and  more  remote  from  each  other 
than  in  most  woods,  and  are  at  very  unequal  distances.  As  in 
the  other  oaks,  they  are  somewhat  sinuous.  They  are  not  so 
thick  as  those  of  the  live  oak,  but  more  so  than  those  of  the 
black.  Its  specific  gravity,  according  to  Bull,  is  to  that  of  shell- 
bark  hickory,  as  .855  to  1. 

On  account  of  its  uses,  the  white  oak  is  the  most  valuable  of 
our  trees.  It  is  applied  to  almost  every  purpose.  It  furnishes 
the  best  ship-timber.  It  is  preferred  for  the  upper  and  lower 
floor  timbers,  for  keel,  kelson,  stem  and  stern  posts  and  timbers, 
for  lower  deck  beams,  for  out-board  planks,  and  for  clamps,  or 
the  thick  stringers  on  the  inside,  on  which  the  beams  rest.  By 
some  it  is  preferred  to  locust  for  treenails. 

Carriage  and  wagon  builders  use  scarcely  any  thing  else  for 
the  spokes  of  wheels.  The  carriage  makers  of  Boston  get  it 
from  the  towns  in  the  vicinity.  It  is  also  used  for  the  fellies 
and  axles,  and  sometimes  for  the  hubs  of  wheels,  but  not  in 
preference  to  all  other  materials,  and  for  the  frames  and  runners 
of  sleighs.  The  ribs,  knees,  gunwale  and  ribbons,  and  the 
chalks  and  top  chalks  of  whale-boats  are  of  white  oak.  Many 
agricultural  instruments  are  made  of  it.  The  mould-boards  and 
handles  of  ploughs,  and  often  axe-helves ;  the  body,  frames, 
tongues,  and  axles  of  carts. 

It  is  preferred  to  every  other  wood,  except  pitch  pine,  for 
pumps.  It  is  used  for  the  very  best  casks,  those  intended  to 
contain  water,  provisions,  and  all  penetrating  liquors,  and  for 
these  purposes  it  is  imported  into  Boston  from  Mobile,  New 
Orleans,  and  other  southern  ports.  It  makes  the  best  hoops, 
with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  hickory ;  both  which  must  be 
wrought  while  in  a  green  state. 
18 


130        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

For  the  purpose  of  making  baskets,  the  lower  part  of  the 
trunk  of  young  white  oak  trees  is  very  much  used,  on  account 
of  its  great  elasticity  and  suppleness,  and  the  evenness  with 
which  it  may  be  divided  into  narrow  strips  or  ribbons,  when  in 
that  stage  of  growth.  For  this  purpose,  it  is  worth  twenty  dol- 
lars per  cord.  The  wood  of  the  young  tree  is  also  used  for  ox- 
bows, where  hickory  cannot  be  obtained,  and  even  in  some 
places  in  preference  to  it.  It  is  often  used  for  handspikes  and 
levers,  and  all  those  numerous  purposes  in  which  strength,  elas- 
ticity, and  toughness  are  required. 

The  bark  is  valuable  to  the  tanner.  It  is  nearly  like  that  of 
the  European  white  oak,  which  is  so  highly  prized  in  England 
and  France,  that  all  the  small  branches  are  stripped,  whenever 
an  oak  is  felled.  In  this  respect,  there  is  still  a  great  want  of 
economy  in  most  parts  of  our  country.  The  average  value  of 
this  bark,  near  the  sea-coast,  is  about  eight  dollars  per  cord. 

The  root  of  the  white  oak  is  seldom  taken  up,  except  for  the 
purpose  of  making  knees  for  naval  architecture.  But,  judging 
from  the  great  beauty  which  a  section  of  these  roots  sometimes 
exhibits,  they  might  with  advantage  be  substituted  for  many  of 
the  foreign,  imported  woods,  for  ornamental  purposes,  as  for  the 
manufacture  of  chairs  and  tables.  The  great  defects  of  the 
wood  of  white  oak  is  its  shrinking  much  and  irregularly,  which 
may,  however,  be  obviated  by  thorough  seasoning. 

The  value  of  white  oak  for  charcoal  is  very  considerable, 
being  surpassed  only  by  that  made  from  the  chestnut,  the  hick- 
ories, and  the  chestnut  white  oak.  As  fuel,  it  is  quite  as  much 
prized  as  it  deserves,  making  at  best  but  a  slow  fire,  and  far 
inferior,  for  this  purpose,  to  the  hickories.  Its  great  importance, 
as  timber,  and  its  increasing  scarcity,  will,  however,  prevent  its 
being  much  used  for  either  of  these  purposes. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  oak  as  an  ornamental  tree,  applies 
especially  to  the  white  oak.  It  is  beautiful  in  every  stage  of 
its  growth ;  at  first,  light,  slender,  delicate  and  waving;  at  last, 
broad,  massive,  and  grand,  but  always  graceful.  Let  every  one 
who  has  an  opportunity,  plant  a  white  oak.  When  standing 
in  a  situation  where  it  is  somewhat  protected,  and  has  room 
freely  to  expand  its  limbs,  it  will  every  year  improve  in  beauty 


II.     1.  THE  WHITE  OAK.  131 

and  magnificence,  for  a  time  equal  to  at  least  five  of  the  genera- 
tions of  men : — 

"Multosque  nepotes, 
Multa  virum  volvens  durando  sascula  vincet." 

When  standing  together,  the  mixture  of  all  the  various  species 
of  the  oak,  will  make  a  much  more  beautiful  forest  than  any- 
one alone. 

"The  great  value  of  this  tree  has  caused  the  destruction  of 
almost  all  trunks  suitable  for  timber,  so  that  it  is  rarely  found 
of  a  large  size.  One  which  I  measured  in  Greenfield,  in  1838, 
was  seventeen  feet  five  inches  just  above  the  root,  and  fifteen 
feet  three  inches  at  three  feet.  A  white  oak  standing  nearly 
opposite  Deacon  Nurse's,  in  Bolton,  measured,  in  1840,  nine- 
teen feet,  just  above  the  roots,  and  fourteen  feet,  at  three  feet 
from  the  ground.     It  had  a  fine,  fresh,  broad  head. 

The  picturesque  ruin  of  a  white  oak  is  standing  in  Brighton, 
where  the  road  called  N  on  an  turn  Street  crosses  that  from  Boston 
to  Newton  Corner.  At  the  surface  of  the  ground,  it  measures, 
this  first  of  October,  1845,  twenty-five  feet  and  nine  inches  in 
circumference  ;  at  three  feet,  it  is  twenty -two  feet  four  inches ; 
at  six  feet,  fifteen  feet  two  inches.  It  tapers  gradually  to  the 
height  of  about  twenty -five  feet,  where  the  stump  of  its  ancient 
top  is  visible,  below  which  point  four  or  five  pretty  large 
branches  are  thrown  out,  which  rise  twenty  or  thirty  feet 
higher.  Below,  the  places  of  many  former  limbs  are  covered 
over  by  immense,  gnarled  and  bossed  protuberances.  The  trunk 
is  hollow  at  the  base,  with  a  large  opening  on  the  southwest, 
through  which  boys  and  men  may  easily  enter.  It  had,  pro- 
bably, passed  its  prime,  centuries  before  the  first  English  voice 
was  heard  on  the  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  It  is  still  clad 
with  abundant  foliage,  and,  if  respected  as  its  venerable  age 
deserves,  it  may  stand,  an  object  of  admiration,  for  centuries  to 
come. 


132       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Sp.  2.     The  Overcup  White  Oak.      Q.  macrocarpa.     Michaux. 

Leaf  and  fruit  figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  I,  Plate  4.     Leaf  and  fruit  in  Plate 

2,  of  this  volume. 

This  oak,  as  it  occurs  in  Massachusetts,  is  a  fine,  erect  tree, 
of  medium  height,  much  and  irregularly  branched,  and  clad 
with  a  most  luxuriant  foliage.  The  lower  branches  are  shoi^, 
horizontal,  and  bushy;  the  upper  ones  tending  upwards,  but 
often  bending,  at  sudden  angles,  in  various  directions.  The 
aspect  of  the  tree  is  much  like  that  of  the  swamp  white  oak, 
but  the  branches  are  free  from  the  loose  bark  which  often  de- 
forms that  species.  The  bark  on  the  trunk  is  of  an  ashen  color, 
intermediate  between  that  of  the  white  oak,  and  of  the  swamp 
white  oak,  less  broken  than  either,  with  long,  superficial  ridges 
or  scales.  The  recent  shoots  are  covered  with  a  yellowish 
brown,  somewhat  downy,  dotted  bark,  turning  gray  the  second 
year,  and  soon  after  becoming  rough. 

The  leaves  are  on  short  footstalks,  pear-shaped  in  their  gen- 
eral outline,  very  deeply  and  irregularly  sinuate-lobed,  with 
three,  four,  or  five  bays  near  or  below  the  middle,  which  ex- 
tend very  nearly  to  the  mid-rib ;  wedge-shaped  or  rounded 
below,  usually  much  broader  and  more  entire  towards  the 
extremity.  They  are  smooth  and  of  a  dark  green  above,  much 
lighter,  cinereous  or  glaucous,  at  first  downy,  finally  nearly 
smooth  beneath,  six  or  seven  inches  long  and  three  or  four 

wide. 

The  buds  are  small,  compressed  and  conical.  The  acorns 
are  very  large,  and  enclosed  for  more  than  half  their  length,  in 
a  cup  covered  with  very  prominent  scales,  and  bordered  by  a 
conspicuous  fringe  of  long,  flexible  threads.  Michaux  says 
that  these  threads  do  not  appear  when  the  tree  is  in  the  midst 
of  a  forest,  or  when  the  summers  are  not  very  warm. 

This  tree  is  found  in  Stockbridge,  and  the  towns  below  it  in 
Berkshire  County,  and  in  the  neighboring  county  of  Dutchess, 
in  New  York,  particularly  in  Dover,  on  Ten  Mile  Creek,  a  trib- 
utary of  the  Housatonic.  As  Mr.  Oakes  has  also  found  it  in 
Vermont,  it  probably  occurs  in  some  of  the  intermediate  towns. 


II     1.  THE  POST  OR  ROUGH  OAK.  133 

It  has  not  previously  been  known  to  occur  in  Massachusetts. 
Michaux  found  it  most  abundant  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
on  the  Missouri. 

It  is  called  pin  oak,  in  Stockbridge  and  Sheffield,  from  its  use 
in  making  wooden  pins  or  treenails,  for  which  purpose  it  is  pre- 
ferred to  every  other  material.  The  wood  of  this  oak  is  very 
solid  and  stiff,  and  approaches,  in  durability,  that  of  the  white 
oak.  It  is  said  to  be  less  elastic  and  tough  than  white  oak,  but 
more  solid  and  smoother-grained.  It  is  used  for  the  axles, 
reaches,  bolsters,  and  braces  of  wagons ;  for  framing  timbers, 
for  sills  and  for  floors ;  and  for  all  the  other  purposes  for  which 
the  best  oak  wood  is  employed.  As  fuel,  it  is  preferred  to 
white  oak. 

The  beauty  of  this  tree,  the  abundance  and  luxuriance  of  its 
foliage,  and  the  extraordinary  size  of  its  acorns,  recommend 
it  to  the  landscape  gardener ;  the  value  of  its  wood,  to  the 
forester. 

Sp.  3.    Post  Oak  or  Rough  Oak.     Quercus  stellata.    Willdenow. 

Q.  obtusiloba.     Michaux.. 

Leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  Plate  5 ;  in  Abbot's  Insects  of 
Georgia,  I,  Plate  47,  and  II,  77;  also  on  Plate  3,  of  this  volume. 

I  have  found  this  oak  nowhere  in  Massachusetts,  except  on 
the  Elizabeth  Islands,  where,  particularly  on  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, it  is  very  abundant,  and  is  called  the  rough  oak,  from 
the  roughness  of  its  leaves.  It  resembles  the  white  oak,  but  is 
distinguished  at  once  by  its  mode  of  branching,  by  the  density 
of  its  foliage,  and  by  the  stiffness  and  peculiar  form  of  its  rough 
leaves.  It  there  grows  rarely  above  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet 
high,  and  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  in  diameter.  The  trunk  is 
covered  by  a  rough,  hard,  grayish-white  bark,  broken  by  deep 
crevices  into  oblong  portions,  usually  scattered  with  whitish 
and  black  lichens.  The  branches  are  numerous,  low,  at  right 
angles,  and  very  crooked,  and  being  crowded  near  the  base,  give 
the  appearance  of  the  top  of  a  tree  whose  trunk  is  under  ground. 
The  shoots  of  this  year's  growth  are  long  and  covered  with  a 
whitish  and  downy  bark      The  leaf-stalks  very  short.     The 


134        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

stiff,  coriaceous  leaf  is  divided,  at  one-third  its  length,  by  a  deep 
sinus  on  each  side ;  the  upper  portion  is  of  three  broad,  obtuse, 
divergent  lobes,  often  double.  The  upper  surface  is  dark  green, 
and  very  rough ;  the  lower,  whitish,  softer,  downy,  the  mid-rib 
and  nerves  turning  to  a  rose  color  in  autumn.  The  leaves  have 
not  unaptly  been  called  stellate,  the  upper  part  resembling  a  star. 
They  are  close  set,  in  large  bunches  or  tufts,  much  more  fleshy 
and  close  than  those  of  the  white  oak,  and  giving  greater  ful- 
ness and  depth  to  the  foliage.  The  spray  is  larger  and  thicker. 
The  acorns,  nearly  sessile  or  on  very  short  footstalks,  are  set 
in  a  grayish,  broad  cup,  invested  by  numerous,  very  smooth, 
close  scales,  and  are  small  and  sweet.  They  are  single,  or  two, 
three,  or  four  together. 

In  Camden,  opposite  Philadelphia,  where  I  particularly  ob- 
served this  tree,  it  is  a  fine  tree  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  bearing  a 
broad,  massive  head,  and  casting  a  deep  shade. 

On  Martha's  Vineyard,  where  the  tree  never  grows  large, 
the  wood  is  preferred  to  all  others  for  fuel.  It  forms  very  val- 
uable knees  for  ship-timber,  but  is  rarely  of  sufficient  size  for 
other  purposes.  In  the  Southern  States,  it  is  called  post  oak, 
and  is  preferred  to  all  other  kinds  of  wood,  on  account  of  its 
durability,  when  used  as  posts.  "Its  timber  is  supposed,  in 
strength  and  durability,  to  surpass  that  of  any  other  species  of 
the  oak,  except  the  live  oak;  and,  therefore,  is  highly  prized 
when  it  can  be  obtained  sufficiently  large  to  be  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  vessels."— {Elliott.)  Staves  made  of  it  are  preferred 
to  those  of  any  other  material. 

Michaux  had  not  found  the  post  oak  north  of  the  Hudson,  and 
supposed  that  its  existence  as  far  north  as  on  the  western  bank  of 
this  river,  opposite  New  York,  was  due  only  to  the  influence  of 
the  sea-breeze  in  tempering  the  severity  of  the  cold.  On  the  Vine- 
yard, it  nearly  covers  a  promontory  which  projects  eastwardly 
of  Holmes'  Hole  into  Buzzard's  Bay.  In  the  most  exposed  sit- 
uations, it  is  very  low  and  scraggy,  forming  a  sloping  wall  of 
close,  crooked  branches  and  trunks,  towards  the  sea-breeze. 
Behind  and  under  cover  of  this,  it  rises  higher  toward  the  centre 
of  the  island,  but  I  think  never  exceeds  thirty  feet.  In  the 
same  exposed  situation,  the  other  oaks,  particularly  the  black, 


II.     1.  THE  SWAMP  WHITE  OAK.  135 

hardly  exceeds  this  in  height,  whilst,  in  the  centre  of  this  island, 
the  latter  becomes  a  very  large  and  tall  tree. 

I  think  the  post  oak  would  grow  readily  in  a  sheltered  situa- 
tion, in  any  part  of  Massachusetts,  but  it  probably  would  not 
reach  a  great  height. 

It  abounds  in  the  western  and  south-western  States ;  and 
probably  some  of  the  timber  imported  thence,  under  the  name 
of  white  oak,  with  which  it  is  often  confounded,  is  the  produce 
of  this  tree. 

Sp.  4.     The  Swamp  White  Oak.     Quercus  bicolor.     Willdenow. 

Leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Michaux ;  Sylva,  I,  Plate  7  ;  and  in  Plate  4,  of  this 

volume. 

The  swamp  white  oak  is  found  in  great  numbers  in  the  low 
moist  grounds  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  and  in  every  county  in 
the  eastern  section  of  the  State ;  and  it  occurs  as  far  north  as 
York  County  in  Maine.  It  is  distinguished  at  all  seasons  by  its 
nearly  entire,  wedge-shaped  leaves,  and  by  its  white  bark, 
rough,  with  large,  loose  flakes  or  scales,  and  its  numerous  and 
intricate  branches.  These  begin  low  down  on  the  trunk,  but 
are  seldom  of  great  height.  The  bark  on  the  smaller,  recent 
branches,  is  of  a  light  grayish  green. 

In  warm  and  sheltered  situations,  it  is  a  neat  and  beautiful 
tree.  When  too  much  exposed  to  the  east  or  north  wind,  it 
shows  the  effect  by  its  ragged  appearance. 

The  leaves,  when  young,  are  very  downy,  with  a  whitish 
ferruginous  down  beneath,  and  of  a  reddish  green  above. 
When  mature,  they  are  on  short  footstalks,  three  to  six,  or  seven 
inches  long,  and  two  to  four  broad,  acute  at  base,  having  often  a 
rather  deep  bay  on  each  side  just  below  the  middle,  and  usually 
abruptly  dilated  towards  the  end,  bordered  by  a  waving  line, 
forming  about  thirteen  large  teeth,  mostly  obtuse,  but  sometimes 
ending  in  a  callous  point.  The  edge  is  slightly  folded  back 
smooth,  and  of  a  pleasant  green  above,  and  covered  beneath 
with  a  white,  very  soft  down ;  nerves  and  larger  veins  promi- 
nent, and  rust-colored.     Below  the  large  leaves  are  commonly 


136        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

found  smaller  ones,  with  four  or  five  teeth,  or  perfectly  entire. 
The  leaves,  in  fading,  become  of  a  light,  leather  yellow. 

The  buds  are  short,  roundish,  and  obtuse.  In  May,  the  male 
blossoms  appear  in  great  numbers,  on  threads  two  or  three 
inches  long,  from  the  base  of  the  new  shoots,  or  from  lower  buds, 
which  produce  them  only.  There  are  about  four  stamens  in 
each  flower.  In  the  axil  of  the  tender,  just  expanding  leaves, 
the  female  blossom  appears,  single  or  in  twos,  on  a  footstalk 
of  half  or  two-thirds  of  an  inch  in  length. 

The  footstalk  lengthens,  late  in  the  season,  to  two  or  three 
inches,  and  bears  one  or  two  very  broad,  roundish-ovate,  pointed 
acorns,  in  deep,  broad,  hemispherical  cups,  rough,  and  some- 
times ragged  and  mossy  without,  with  the  projecting  points  of 
the  scales,  from  whose  union  the  cup  is  formed. 

The  fruit  is  sweet,  not  abundant,  but  more  so  usually  than 
that  of  the  white  oak. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  this  tree,  differing  strikingly  in 
the  smoothness  of  the  bark,  in  the  shape  of  the  leaves,  some- 
times narrow  and  somewhat  deeply  lobed,  in  the  roughness  of 
the  acorn  cup,  and  the  character  of  the  branches.  They  are 
not  often  handsome,  usually  offending  the  eye  with  the  rough- 
ness and  scaliness  of  the  bark,  and  the  scragginess  of  the 
branches.  But  there  are  exceptions ;  and  some  of  the  varieties 
are  fine,  shapely  trees. 

The  wood  of  the  swamp  white  oak  is  of  a  brownish  color, 
heavy,  compact,  and  fine-grained,  and  possesses  great  strength 
and  elasticity.  It  approaches  in  value  to  that  of  the  white  oak. 
By  boat-builders  it  is  sometimes  preferred.  It  seems  to  have, 
in  an  inferior  degree,  the  properties  which  distinguish  that 
wood,  and  forms  an  excellent  substitute.  It  has  considerable 
toughness,  so  that  hubs  are  sometimes  made  of  it. 

This  tree  grows  to  a  large  size.  I  have  seen  stumps  which 
measured  five  feet  and  more  in  diameter.  But  I  have  not  mea- 
sured many  large  trees.  One,  a  third  part  of  a  mile  from  the 
great  elm,  on  the  land  of  Mr.  Jaquith,  Newbury,  growing  in  a 
wet,  clayey  soil,  measured,  in  1839,  twelve  feet  and  one  inch 
in  circumference,  at  four  feet  from  the  ground. 


II.     1.  THE  CHESTNUT  OAK.  137 


Sp.  5.     The  Chestnut  Oak.      Quercus  castanea.     Muhlenberg. 

Leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  Plate  10,  and  in  Plate  5,  of  this 

volume. 

This  graceful  tree  is  distinguished  from  the  rock  chestnut 
oak,  by  its  narrower  leaves,  more  nearly  resembling  those  of  the 
chestnut  tree,  and  having  sharper  teeth,  and  by  its  smaller  fruit. 

I  have  found  only  a  few  straggling  individuals,  and  at  first 
took  them  for  varieties  of  the  tree  last  mentioned.  I  was  struck 
with  their  beauty,  but  I  have  been  able  to  learn  nothing  in  regard 
to  the  peculiar  qualities  of  the  wood  as  fuel,  or  as  timber,  or  of 
the  bark,  as  it  is,  wherever  found,  confounded  with  the  rock 
chestnut  oak,  and,  together  with  that,  known  by  the  name  of 
chestnut  oak.  Several  trees  of  this  group  are,  in  all  the  States 
where  they  grow,  confounded  with  each  other  by  the  common 
people.  And  the  elder  Michaux,  who  viewed  them  with  the 
discrimination  of  a  botanist,  and  with  a  wealth  of  observation 
which  could  afford  not  to  multiply  species,  considered  them  as 
varieties  of  the  one  species,  Primus.  The  younger  Michaux 
makes  this  a  distinct  species,  and  points  out  some  striking 
peculiarities.  He  says  that  the  wood  is  of  a  very  yellow  color, 
that  it  grows  only  in  fertile  valleys,  and  that  its  bark  separates 
in  sheets,  like  that  of  the  swamp  white  oak.  The  texture  of 
the  wood  also  differs  in  having  more  numerous,  and  irregularly 
disposed  flakes  of  silver  grain,  than  in  any  of  the  other  oaks. 
Whoever  has  been  in  the  habit  of  examining  many  trees  and 
varieties  of  wood,  will  be  willing  to  admit  that  these  differences 
are  not  greater  than  we  meet  with  in  trees  acknowledged  to  be 
of  the  same  species.  These  trees  must  be  raised,  side  by  side, 
from  seed,  before  we  can  be  sure  of  their  essential  distinction. 

The  younger  Michaux  considered  the  banks  of  the  Delaware 
as  the  northeastern  limit  of  this  oak,  which  he  found  most 
abundant  in  some  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Tennessee.  I 
have  found  it  growing  about  Mount  Agamenticus,  and,  farther 
north,  on  the  banks  of  the  Saco  River,  in  York  County,  Maine. 
In  this  State,  I  have  found  it  in  Lancaster,  Sterling,  Russell, 
and  Middleborough. 
19 


138       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sp.  6.  The  Rock  Chestnut  Oak.    Quercus  montana.  Willdenow. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  Plate  131 ;  leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Abbot's 
Insects  of  Georgia,  II,  Plate  82 ;  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  Plate  9  ;  and  in  this 
volume,  Plate  6. 

This  oak  is  by  no  means  frequent  in  the  State,  and  where 
found,  it  is  usually  confined  to  small  districts  on  rocky  hills. 
It  is  called  sometimes  the  rock  oak,  or,  more  frequently,  the 
chestnut  oak,  and  has  great  resemblance  to  the  chestnut  tree  in 
its  general  appearance  and  mode  of  growth.  I  have  found  large 
forests  of  it  in  South  Attleboro',  small  patches  in  Middleboro', 
in  Sterling  and  Lancaster,  larger  ones  in  Erving's  Grant,  and 
that  neighborhood,  and  detached  clumps  in  various  places  in 
the  hill  country,  on  both  sides  of  Connecticut  River.  It  is  found 
in  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  and  is  abundant  on  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains. 

I  have  never  found  it  growing  to  a  large  size,  but  usually 
between  one  and  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  forty  to  sixty  feet 
high.  One  in  Sterling  measured  six  feet  two  inches,  at  three 
feet  from  the  ground.  The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  dark,  red- 
dish-gray bark,  often  spotted  with  whitish  lichens.  The  bark 
is  somewhat  lighter  than  that  of  the  chestnut  tree,  and  less 
rough  than  that  of  most  other  oaks,  resembling  that  of  the  red 
oak,  but  smoother.  The  clefts  are  long,  but  not  deep,  and 
near  each  other,  and  rather  smooth  on  their  sides.  The 
branches  are  not  very  numerous,  making  a  sharper  angle  than 
in  the  oaks  above-mentioned ;  and  the  ultimate  divisions  are  very 
small.     The  bark  is  very  compact. 

The  leaves  vary  considerably  in  size  and  shape, — being  from 
four  to  nine  inches  long,  and  two  to  five  wide.  They  are  borne 
on  very  short  footstalks,  obtuse  and  often  unequal  at  base,  some- 
times broadest  at  the  middle,  but  more  frequently  towards  the 
extremity,  with  from  six  to  thirteen  large,  rounded  teeth  on  each 
side,  which  often  end  in  a  small  hard  point,  the  termination  of 
the  parallel  nerves,  which  are  connected  by  finely  reticulated, 
parallel  veins ;  they  are  of  a  polished  green  above,  much  lighter, 
and,  in  a  young  state,  downy  beneath. 


II.     1.  THE  ROCK  CHESTNUT  OAK.  139 

When  the  trees  are  cut  young,  the  stumps  throw  up  shoots, 
of  four  feet  or  more  in  length,  the  first  year. 

This  beautiful  tree  has  many  claims  to  attention.  It  is,  ac- 
cording to  the  uniform  testimony  of  those  who  have  tried  it  as 
fuel,  superior,  for  that  purpose,  to  any  other  oak  which  will 
grow  in  the  same  situation,  and  it  is  generally  considered  supe- 
rior to  every  other  wood.  Mr.  Bull's  experiments  would  lead 
to  a  different  conclusion,  as  he  makes  its  value  less  than  that 
of  most  other  oaks. 

As  timber,  it  ranks,  with  many,  next  to  the  white  oak.  It  is 
doubtless  very  valuable,  but  not  more  so  than  either  of  the  pre- 
ceding oaks. 

The  bark,  wherever  it  has  been  used,  is  highly  esteemed  by 
tanners. 

The  acorns,  which  it  produces  as  scantily  and  as  rarely  as 
either  of  the  preceding,  are  large  and  very  sweet. 

But  the  chief  recommendation  of  the  rock  chestnut  oak,  is 
the  situation  in  which  it  grows.  It  grows  naturally  and  flour- 
ishes on  the  steep  sides  of  rocky  hills,  where  few  other  trees 
thrive,  and  where  the  other  kinds  of  oak  can  hardly  get  a  foot- 
hold. There  are,  probably,  thousands  of  acres  of  hilly,  rocky 
land,  in  almost  every  county  in  Massachusetts,  where  various 
kinds  of  evergreens  have  grown,  unmixed  with  deciduous  trees, 
until  they  have  exhausted  all  the  nutriment  suited  to  their  sup- 
port, and  where  now,  consequently,  nothing  thrives,  which 
would  furnish  abundant  support  for  this  kind  of  oak. 

It  is  well  known,  that  successive  growths  of  trees  of  the  same 
family  exhaust  the  soil,  in  the  same  manner  as  successive  crops 
of  annual  or  other  herbaceous  plants  of  the  same  kind.  And 
they  not  only  exhaust  it,  but  are  supposed  to  fill  it  with  excre- 
mentitious  matter,  which  is  in  a  manner  poisonous  to  analogous 
plants.  The  remedy,  in  cultivated  lands,  is  a  rotation  of  crops. 
The  same  suggests  itself  in  the  forest;  and,  whenever  it  can 
take  place,  a  rotation  is  established  by  nature.  But  where  no 
seed,  of  a  kind  entirely  unlike  that  which  has  grown  upon  the 
soil,  is  found,  unassisted ,  nature  cannot  supply  the  want.  In 
such  cases,  the  art  of  man  may  come  in  with  advantage.  There 
is  every  reason  to  believe,  that  if  acorns  of  the  oak  of  which 


140       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

we  are  speaking,  were  planted  on  many  hills,  which  now  bear 
nothing  but  stunted  cedars,  they  would  meet  with  the  soil  they 
want,  and  would  flourish  exceedingly  well. 

Sp.  7.     The  Little  Chincapin  Oak.      Quercus  chinquapin* 

Michaux. 

Leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  Plate  11. 

This  is  much  the  smallest  of  the  oak  family  which  occurs  in 
New  England,  seldom  rising  above  five  feet,  and  usually  only  two 
or  three.  It  is  found,  scattered  in  almost  every  part  of  the  State. 
On  Martha's  Vineyard,  it  occupies,  in  some  instances,  many 
acres  together,  to  the  exclusion  of  almost  every  thing  else.  It 
is  also  abundant  in  some  parts  of  Middlesex  County.  I  have 
found  it  and  the  bear  oak,  chiefly,  but  not  exclusively,  on  sterile 
soil.  It  produces  great  quantities  of  acorns,  which  seem  to  be 
devoured  with  avidity  by  wild  animals,  and  also  by  cattle  and 
swine. 

The  recent  shoots  are  of  an  olive  or  bronze  green,  smooth 
and  shining,  channelled,  and  dotted  with  small  orange  or  yellow 
dots.  The  larger  branches  are  of  a  light,  shining,  ashen  gray; 
the  stem  dark,  almost  black,  clouded  often  with  light  patches  of 
membranaceous  lichens.  The  fruit  is  borne  on  footstalks  of 
half  an  inch  in  length,  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves  about  the 
middle  of  the  recent  shoots.  The  cup  is  often  set  with  several 
abortive  acorns,  which  fall  off  when  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch 
long.  The  leaves  are  obovate,  tapering  gradually  to  a  petiole 
one-half  to  one  inch  long ;  they  are  obtusely  pointed,  sometimes 
nearly  entire  and  sinuate  on  the  border,  usually  with  four  to 
eight  large  teeth  on  each  side,  which  terminate  in  a  blunt, 
brownish,  callous  point;  margin  slightly  revolute  ;  surface  light 
green  and  polished  above,  whitish  or  bluish,  fine-downy  be- 
neath. 

The  bitterness  of  the  bark  shows  that  it  abounds  in  tannin ; 
and  it  might,  doubtless,  be  advantageously  used  by  the  tanner, 
as  the  small  branches  of  most  of  the  oaks  are  in  Europe. 

Where  this  little  oak  constitutes  the  principal  growth,  it 
might  easily  be  made  to  perform  an  important  service.     If  the 


II.    1.    THE  BLACK  OR  YELLOW-BARKED  OAK.     141 

seeds  of  the  pitch  pine,  the  red  cedar,  the  larch,  or  some  of  the 
valuable  oaks,  were  placed,  at  the  right  season,  an  inch  or  less 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil, — they  would  spring  up  under 
its  shade,  and  be  protected  by  it  from  sun  and  wind,  until  they 
were  large  enough  to  need  no  further  protection ;  after  which  it 
might  be  grubbed  up,  or  left  to  die  gradually  in  the  shade. 

Sp.  8.     The  Black  or  Yellow-barked  Oak.      Quercus  tinctoria. 

Bartram. 

Leaf  figured  in  Michaux ;  Sylva,  Plate  24  ;  fruit,  Plate  25.  One  variety  is 
figured  in  Abbot's  Insects  of  Georgia,  II,  Plate  56.  By  A.  Michaux  ;  His- 
toire  des  Chenes,  Plates  24,  25  ;  and  poorly  in  Audubon's  Birds,  Plate  82  ; 
the  two  most  common  forms  are  figured  in  Plates  7  and  8  of  this  volume. 

This  oak  is  distinguished  from  all  others,  by  the  rich  yellow 
or  orange  color  of  its  inner  bark,  and  the  same  color,  less  deep, 
in  the  fruit.  It  is,  usually,  also  remarkable  for  the  black  color 
of  the  external  bark  on  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk.  But  this 
characteristic  often  fails  in  young  trees ;  the  two  oaks  which 
follow  being  often  dark  in  almost  an  equal  degree. 

The  trunk,  even  in  rather  small  trees,  is  excessively  rough 
towards  the  base.  In  old  trees,  this  extreme  ruggedness  extends 
throughout  the  trunk,  and  the  bark  is  always  remarkably  free 
from  the  larger  lichens. 

The  recent  branchlets  are  brownish,  or  bronze  red,  somewhat 
channelled,  and  usually  downy,  closely  dotted  with  minute  gray 
dots, — with  brilliant  black  dots,  when  seen  under  a  magnifier. 
The  older  branchlets  are  of  a  grayish  or  pearly  green,  dots  not 
much  enlarged,  surface  soon  clouded  with  pearly,  membrana- 
ceous lichens.  The  buds  are  large,  ovate,  or  pyramidal,  reddish 
brown,  or  grayish,  and  pointed. 

The  staminate  flowers  are  on  a  long  pendulous  thread,  closely 
covered  with  down.  Perianth  downy,  deeply  divided  into  two 
to  four  fringed  pieces  ;  stamens  four  to  six  ;  anthers  opening  on 
the  sides,  to  the  base. 

The  fertile  flowers  nearly  sessile,  one,  two,  or  three  together, 
in  the  axil  of  a  leaf;  cup  formed  of  several  fleshy  scales,  the 
outer  ones  narrow  and  pointed,  the  inner,  broader ;  styles  three, 


142       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

diverging,  bearing  recurved  stigmas,  issuing  from  an  ovary 
which  is  surrounded  by  the  fringed  points  of  four  to  six  seg- 
ments of  a  perianth,  all  densely  covered  with  down. 

The  acorn  is  small,  of  a  flattened,  globose  shape,  sometimes 
beautifully  striped  with  longitudinal  bars  of  yellow  and  brown, 
in  a  very  deep  cup,  of  a  brilliant  orange  within,  lengthened 
downwards  and  gradually  diminishing.  The  scales  are  free 
at  their  extremities,  near  the  acorn,  and  waving.  The  kernel 
is  of  a  yellowish  or  faint  orange  color,  and  very  bitter. 

The  leaves  are  borne  on  long,  rather  slender,  usually  downy 
footstalks,  inclined  to  yellowish  green.  They  are  inversely 
egg-shaped  in  their  general  outline,  obtuse  and  unequal,  rarely 
acute  at  base ;  on  old  trees,  deeply  cut  by  about  three  sinuosi- 
ties on  each  side ;  on  young  and  vigorous  shoots,  particularly 
on  sprouts  from  a  stump,  more  nearly  entire.  The  lobes  are 
usually  broader,  and  the  sinuosities  less  deep  than  in  the  scarlet 
oak.  The  lobes  often  enlarge  towards  the  extremities,  render- 
ing the  sinuses  somewhat  ovate :  the  primary  and  secondary 
veins  end  commonly  in  bristles.  The  surface  is  often  dusty 
with  a  fine  down  above,  still  shining,  and  sometimes,  in  old 
leaves,  smooth ;  beneath,  downy,  when  young ;  smooth,  or 
nearly  smooth,  when  old,  except  at  the  axils  of  the  veins,  which 
are  almost  always  downy.  The  color  is  usually  much  darker 
than  that  of  the  leaves  of  the  scarlet  oak,  and  the  texture  is 
thicker.  They  are  often  spread  beneath  with  a  ferruginous 
down,  accumulated  at  the  axils  of  the  veins.*  Late  in  autumn, 
the  leaves  become  of  a  rich,  yellowish  brown,  or  russet,  or  rus- 
set-orange. 

There  are  three  pretty  distinct  varieties  of  the  black  oak. 
The  first  has  its  leaves  full  and  almost  entire,  and  running 
down  along  the  footstalk ;   the  second  has  leaves  almost  exactly 

*  Those  figured  by  the  elder  Michaux  are  precisely  such  as  can  be  always  found 
on  the  young,  lower,  vigorous  sprouts  of  the  black  oak.  Pursh,  Nuttall  and  Beck 
fall  into  the  mistake,  while  evidently  speaking  of  this  same  tree,  of  describing  its 
leaves  as  not  deeply  lobed.  Pursh  says,  "levissime  sinuatis."  Now,  leaves  of  this 
shape  can  always  be  found,  and  are  characteristic  of  this  tree.  But  the  greater 
part  of  the  leaves,  on  old  trees,  are  very  deeply  lobed,  almost  as  much  so  as  those 
of  the  scarlet  oak,  and  much  more  than  the  leaves  of  the  red  oak. 


II.  1.  THE  BLACK  OR  YELLOW -BARKED  OAK.  143 

resembling  those  of  the  scarlet  oak,  from  which  it  cannot  easily 
be  distinguished  but  by  the  color  of  its  inner  bark.  The  third 
has  leaves  very  broad  at  the  extremity,  and  tapering  much 
towards  the  base.  These  trees  seem  to  be  as  different  as  the 
several  varieties  or  species  of  the  chestnut  oak  group.  There 
are,  probably,  corresponding  differences  in  the  qualities  of  the 
wood. 

For  ship-timber,  the  wood  of  the  black  oak  is  next  in  value 
to  that  of  the  oaks  of  the  first  division ;  and  it  is  much  used 
as  a  substitute  for  white  oak.  For  floors  and  floor -timbers,  it 
answers  well,  but  is  liable  to  decay,  about  iron.  The  grain  is 
close  and  rather  fine ;  the  pores  between  the  circles  of  growth 
are  not  large ;  the  plates  of  silver  grain  rather  wide  and  near 
together.  It  has,  therefore,  great  strength,  and  is  extensively 
used  by  wagon-makers  and  other  manufacturers  in  wood,  being, 
for  some  purposes,  superior  to  white  oak. 

The  bark  is  highly  valued  by  the  tanner,  as  it  abounds  in 
tannin.  It  is  liable,  however,  to  the  objection,  that  it  gives  a 
yellow  color  to  leather,  which  is  communicated  to  articles  which 
remain  long  in  contact  with  it. 

The  bark  is  also  much  used  in  domestic  manufactures,  for 
dyeing.  With  various  preparations,  it  gives  a  great  variety  of 
shades  of  fawn  color  and  yellow.  From  the  inner  portion  of 
the  bark  is  obtained  the  substance  called  quercitron,  which  was 
first  brought  to  notice  by  Dr.  Bancroft,  and  is  used  as  a  substi- 
tute for  weld,  in  dyeing  on  a  large  scale.  The  colors  given  are 
fast  colors.  By  a  mixture  of  other  dyes,  as  cochineal,  several 
other  shades,  all  rich  and  delicate,  are  given  by  quercitron. 

This  bark  is  not  so  highly  valued  as  it  should  be.  By  means 
of  it  and  the  sumac,  alders,  birch,  and  some  other  barks,  nearly 
all  the  colors  necessary  in  dyeing  might  be  obtained  without 
cost,  as  the  time  of  those  who  would  prepare  it  is  not  commonly 
applied  to  any  productive  object,  at  the  season  when  the  prepa- 
ration might  be  made. 

Upon  the  leaves  of  the  black  oak,  as  also  those  of  the  red 
and  scarlet,  are  often  found  smooth,  round,  light  excrescences, 
called  oak  apples,  one  or  two  inches  in  diameter.  They  are 
formed  by  an  extension  of  the  cuticle  of  the  leaf,  which  they 


144         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

resemble  in  color  and  consistency,  enclosing  a  portion  of  fibrous, 
fleshy  substance.  This  gradually  shrinks  to  a  brown,  spongy 
mass,  with  a  small  woody  kernel  in  the  centre,  and  a  thin,  brit- 
tle, drab-colored  shell.  They  are  produced  by  an  insect  punc- 
turing the  healthy  leaf,  and  depositing  therein  an  egg,  about 
which  the  apple  forms.  "A  single  grub  lives  in  the  kernel, 
becomes  a  chrysalis  in  the  autumn,  when  the  oak  apple  falls 
from  the  tree ;  changes  to  a  fly  in  the  spring,  and  makes  its 
escape  out  of  a  small  round  hole,  which  it  gnaws  through  the 
kernel  and  shell.  .  .  .  The  name  of  this  insect  is  Cynips  con- 
fluentus."* 

The  black  oak,  far  the  most  valuable  of  its  group,  is  found 
in  the  southern  part  of  Maine  and  in  New  Hampshire,  and  is 
more  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  Massachusetts  than  any 
other  oak,  except  the  white  and  the  scarlet.  From  the  latter 
it  is  not  usually  distinguished,  while  standing,  except  by  ship- 
builders. When  felled,  it  is  known  by  its  thicker  bark.  It 
does  not  often  attain  a  large  size,  being  seldom  found  over  four 
feet  in  diameter,  and  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  high.  In  the 
Middle  and  Western  States,  it  rises  to  the  height  of  eighty  or 
ninety  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  five  feet  or  more.  It  is  of  a 
rapid  growth,  and  flourishes  even  on  poor  soils. 

A  yellow  bark  oak,  in  Sterling,  on  a  rocky  hill  on  the  lands 
of  Mr.  Stewart,  measured,  at  the  ground,  thirteen  feet  in  cir- 
cumference ;  at  three  feet,  nine ;  at  six,  eight  feet  one  inch.  It 
rises  at  least  thirty  feet  in  a  straight,  undivided  column,  with- 
out a  limb  and  with  a  gradual  taper.  It  then  begins  to  branch, 
and  terminates  at  a  goodly  height,  in  a  roundish  head  of  few 
branches. 

Sp.  9.     The  Scarlet  Oak.      Quercus  coccinea.     Wangenheim. 

The  fruit  is  figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  Plate  24  ;  leaves  on  Plate  25  ;  leaves 
and  fruit  on  Plate  9,  of  this  volume. 

This  handsome  tree  is  almost  every  where  known  by  the 
name  of  the  red  oak,  and  is  thence  confounded  with  a  tree 
which  is  inferior  to  it  in  every  valuable  property.     The  trunk 

*  Harris's  Report,  p.  397. 


II.     1.  THE  SCARLET  OAK.  145 

is  straight,  rather  rapidly,  but  not  abruptly  diminishing.  The 
bark  on  small  trees  is  of  a  reddish  granite  color,  rough,  with 
numerous  short  clefts;  on  older  trees  the  bark  has  a  bluish 
tinge,  whereby  it  may  be  distinguished  from  that  of  the  black 
oak.  The  recent  branchlets  are  of  a  light  purplish  green,  very 
smooth,  older  ones  darker,  purplish  green ;  larger  branches 
grayish. 

The  flowers  appear  in  May;  the  sterile  on  a  slender  green 
thread,  two  or  three  inches  long,  set  with  a  few  scattered  hairs. 
The  perianth  is  brown,  on  a  very  short  footstalk,  single,  deeply 
divided  into  four  to  six  jagged,  unequal,  fringed  lobes.  The 
stamens  are  five,  (four  to  six,)  on  filaments  longer  than  the 
perianth,  and  a  little  hairy  above  and  below. 

The  acorn  is  small,  of  a  lengthened  globose  form,  in  a  deep 
cup  considerably  prolonged  at  base,  the  upper  edge  of  which  is 
very  abrupt,  and  the  scales  rather  large,  not  free,  but  usually 
close  at  the  edge  of  the  cup,  and  hairy  on  the  side  edges.  The 
kernel  is  white,  and.  less  bitter  than  that  of  the  black  oak. 

The  leaves  are  on  long,  slender,  smooth  petioles,  irregular  in 
shape,  but  oblong  or  roundish  in  the  general  outline,  very  deeply 
sinuate,  with  about  three  broad,  rounded  sinuosities;  lobes  long, 
acute-angled,  or  with  their  sides  nearly  parallel,  ending  in  a 
bristle ;  thin  and  very  smooth,  and  polished  on  both  surfaces, 
except  that  they  sometimes  have  a  slight  pubescence  at  the 
angles  of  the  veins  beneath.  The  leaves  are  commonly  ine- 
quilateral and  obtuse  at  base,  though  sometimes  acute,  and  end 
in  an  oblong,  narrow  lobe,  partially  divided  into  three  parts. 

This  tree  may  be  usually  distinguished  from  the  black  oak,  at 
a  little  distance,  by  its  more  deeply  cut  foliage,  and  consequently 
lighter  appearance,  and  also  by  the  brighter  and  lighter  hue  of 
the  leaves,  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  points  of  reflected  sunlight. 
Yet,  from  the  general  similarity  of  the  two,  and  the  numerous 
varieties  of  each  species,  an  inexperienced  observer  is  very  apt 
to  imagine  that  he  finds  both,  in  a  forest  made  up  exclusively 
of  either  ;  and  it  must  be  admitted,  that  they  often  approach  so 
near  each  other  in  character,  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to 
distinguish  them  without  cutting  into  the  bark,  except  after 
the  change  in  the  color  of  the  foliage,  which  takes  place  in 
20 


146        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

autumn.  The  rich  and  beautiful  deep  scarlet  color,  red  dotted 
with  crimson,  or  orange  scarlet,  of  the  foliage  of  this  oak,  sepa- 
rates it  strikingly,  at  that  season,  from  every  other  species. 

To  obviate  the  difficulty  of  discrimination,  I  have  brought 
together  the  points  of  difference,  by  which  they  may  be  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other,  at  any  age  or  season. 

In  the  black  oak,  the  leaves  are  broader  and  fuller  towards  the 
end;  larger,  more  nearly  entire,  and  usually  darker  and  thicker; 
on  small  plants  they  are  more  full  and  more  nearly  entire ; 
the  footstalk  is  stouter ;  the  axils  of  the  veins  are  very  downy ; 
and  the  leaf  is  more  fully  covered  with  down,  on  both  surfaces, 
when  young.  The  buds  are  larger,  grayish,  and  downy  ;  the 
young  branches  and  shoots  stouter;  the  acorn  cup  has  the  upper 
edge  of  the  scales  next  the  acorn  loose  and  fringed.  The  stem 
of  the  tree  is  blacker,  particularly  towards  the  base,  rougher, 
with  chinks  numerous,  and  black  within  ;  and  the  old  bark  not 
so  fully  covered  with  lichens.  The  kernel  of  the  acorn,  the 
inside  of  the  acorn  cup,  and  the  inner  portions  of  the  bark,  are 
of  a  rich  orange  color,  and  all  intensely  bitter. 

In  the  scarlet  oak,  growing  in  the  same  forests,  the  leaves 
are  fuller  towards  the  middle,  smaller,  thinner,  more  deeply  cut, 
and  of  a  lighter  and  livelier  color;  on  small  plants,  more  deeply 
cut,  but  sometimes  running  down  along  the  footstalk  ;  the  foot- 
stalk is  longer  and  more  slender,  and  both  surfaces  and  the  axils 
of  the  veins  are  always  less  downy.  Young  branches  and  shoots 
more  slender  and  smooth ;  buds  smaller,  conical,  obtusely  point- 
ed, brownish,  smooth ;  in  the  acorn  cup  the  extremity  of  the 
scales  closer,  and  not  forming  so  much  of  a  fringe  next  the  acorn. 
The  stem  is  gray,  with  a  bluish  tinge,  and  less  rough ;  chinks 
less  numerous,  light  brownish  within ;  the  old  bark,  where 
smooth,  covered  with  lichens.  The  kernel  of  the  acorn  and 
inside  of  the  acorn  cup,  are  white  or  pale  yellow;  inner  portions 
of  the  bark  reddish ;  all  much  less  bitter. 

The  scarlet  oak  abounds  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State, 
forming  a  considerable  portion  of  the  oak  forests  in  Plymouth 
and  Bristol  counties,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston, — for  thirty 
or  forty  miles  on  every  side.     It  is  found,  also,  but  far  less 


II.     1.  THE  SCARLET  OAK.  147 

abundantly,  in  the  middle  of  the  State,  and  in  the  river  counties, 
but  seldom  occurs  westward  of  the  Connecticut. 

As  fuel,  it  is  not  commonly  distinguished  from  the  black  oak, 
to  which  it  is,  however,  decidedly  inferior.  It  forms  a  large 
part  of  the  wood  which  is  imported  into  Boston  from  the  south 
shore,  or  which  is  brought  in  from  the  neighborhood. 

For  the  use  of  the  tanner,  it  is  still  less  valuable ;  the  bark 
being  much  thinner  than  the  yellow  oak  bark,  and  less  abound- 
ing in  tannin.  It  is,  however,  far  superior  to  the  bark  of  the 
red  oak,  with  which  it  is  constantly  confounded,  from  having, 
in  many  places,  the  same  name. 

The  scarlet  oak,  like  the  black,  is  a  tree  of  considerable  beauty 
at  every  season  of  the  year.  But  in  the  autumn,  when  the 
whole  forest  has  changed  its  color,  the  rich  scarlet  which  its 
leaves  assume,  makes  it  an  object  of  conspicuous  beauty.  The 
leaves,  after  they  have  undergone  this  change  of  color,  which 
has  no  dependence  on  the  action  of  the  frost,  remain  long  upon 
the  tree,  and,  in  the  natural  forest,  blend  harmoniously  with 
the  dark  brown  of  the  red,  the  yellow  of  the  old  black  oak,  and 
the  red  hues  of  the  young,  and  the  deep  rich  purple  of  the  still 
more  persistent  leaves  of  the  white  oak.  Adding  to  these  the 
various  shades  of  crimson  and  orange  of  the  maples  and  tupelos, 
you  give  to  a  stroll  through  the  autumn  woods  in  a  pleasant 
day  in  the  Indian  summer,  such  a  variety  of  attractions,  that 
he  who  yields  to  them,  and  comes  out  to  enjoy  the  scenery  with 
its  rich,  mellow  colors,  and  the  soft,  mild  and  yet  glowing  at- 
mosphere, each  so  made  for  the  other,  finds  it  difficult  to  per- 
suade himself  how  so  many  can  be  induced  to  forego  the  enjoy- 
ment. 

Neither  the  scarlet  nor  the  black  oak  grows  to  a  great  size 
or  height  in  Massachusetts,  though  in  the  Middle,  Southern,  and 
Western  States,  they  are  among  the  tallest  oaks.  I  have  not 
found  many  over  five  feet  in  diameter.  One,  in  Natick,  near  Mr. 
Jonathan  Bacon's,  measured  sixteen  feet  four  inches  in  circum- 
ference at  the  ground,  but  diminished  rapidly,  being  only  ten 
feet,  at  four  feet  above.  The  scarlet  has  less  of  the  tendency 
to  spread  than  most  other  oaks,  but  is  a  graceful  tree,  present- 
ing in  its  shape  and  limbs  an  endless  variety  of  beauty. 


148        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sp.  10.     The  Red  Oak.      Quercus  rubra.     L. 

Figured  very  poorly  in  Abbot's  Insects  of  Georgia,  II,  Plate  103  ;*  well  in 
Michaux  ;  Sylva,I,  Plate  28.  The  prevailing  character  of  the  leaves,  at  the 
north,  is  given  in  Plate  26  :  also  figured  in  Plate  10  of  this  volume. 

The  red  oak  is  the  most  northern  of  the  oaks.  According  to 
Dr.  Richardson,  it  is  found  as  far  north  as  the  Saskatchawan, 
and  the  rocks  at  Lake  Namakeen.  It  is  common  in  all  the  New 
England,  Middle,  and  Southern  States,  as  far  as  Georgia,  and 
on  the  western  declivities  of  the  Alleghanies.  Like  the  elm,  it 
comes  to  its  greatest  perfection  in  Massachusetts,  perceptibly 
diminishing  in  vigor  and  luxuriance  of  growth,  farther  towards 
the  north,  and  not  increasing  in  either  towards  the  south.  This 
tree  is  found  in  every  part  of  Massachusetts,  growing  freely  in 
every  variety  of  soil,  even  the  poorest.  It  is  known  by  several 
names,  the  red,  the  black,  and  the  gray  oak.  The  most  general, 
as  the  most  appropriate  name,  is  the  red  oak,  as  the  mid-rib 
and  veins  of  the  leaves  are  often  of  a  rich  red  color  in  the  latter 
part  of  autumn ;  and  the  leaves  turn  to  a  uniform  dark  red 
before  they  fall. 

The  trunk  is  of  a  dark  greenish  ashen  grey,  continuing  smooth 
longer  than  any  other  tree  of  the  genus,  and  never  becoming 
extremely  rough.  The  bark  on  the  recent  branchlets  is  of  a 
polished  brown  with  minute  dots:  during  the  next  year  it  has 
a  pearly  hue  which  it  exchanges  for  a  deep  green,  gradually 
turning  to  the  uniform,  greenish  gray  of  the  trunk. 

The  leaves  are  oblong  or  lance-shaped  in  their  general  out- 
line, larger  towards  the  end,  and  contracted  towards  the  base. 
The  lobes  are  five  or  six  on  each  side,  separated  by  a  rounded, 
not  very  deep,  sinus ;  the  lobes  sharp  and  terminating  in  bris- 
tles.    The  leaf  is  obtuse  or,  more  commonly,  acute  at  base;  the 

*  The  acorns  in  this  figure  show  that  the  red  oak  is  intended  ;  the  leaves  are 
very  poorly  done.  The  14th  plate  in  Abbot's  work  was  probably  intended  to  rep- 
resent the  scarlet  oak,  certainly  not  Quercus  rubra,  as  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  supposed  it 
to  be.  The  56th  is  evidently  the  figure  of  a  variety  of  the  Quercus  tinctoria,  {Quer- 
cus tinctoria  sinuosa,)  as  the  elder  Michaux  considered  it.  Abbot's  plate  50  rep- 
resents, probably,  the  leaves  of  the  black  jack  oak,  Quercus  nigra  of  Willdenow ; 
possibly  those  of  Quercus  aquatica;  certainly  not  those  of  Quercus  rubra. 


II.     1.  THE  RED  OAK.  149 

texture  thin  and  membranaceous ;   the  color  of  a  lively,  shining 
green  above,  paler,  but  shining  beneath. 

The  acorns  are  larger  and  contained  in  a  broader  and  shal- 
lower cup,  than  those  of  any  other  northern  oak.  The  cup  is 
invested  with  narrow,  thin,  and  very  close  scales.  The  kernel  is 
whitish,  and  bitter  to  the  taste,  but  the  acorns  are  eagerly  sought 
after  by  cattle  and  swine,  though  they  seem  not  to  be  much  in 
request  with  the  smaller  wild  animals. 

The  red  oak  is  of  little  value  for  fuel  or  for  most  purposes 
as  timber.  The  sour  and  acrid  juices,  which  can  hardly  be 
expelled  from  the  wood  by  natural  or  artificial  seasoning,  rapidly 
corrode  iron  spikes  which  are  driven  into  it ;  and  the  bark  is 
almost  worthless  for  the  use  of  the  tanner.  Beams  made  of  it, 
and  employed  in  the  frame  of  buildings,  have,  indeed,  been 
found  free  from  decay  at  the  end  of  a  century  ;  and  it  is  easily 
distinguished,  even  at  that  age,  from  the  wood  of  any  other  oak, 
by  its  not  having  become  seasoned,  and  by  its  thence  imperfect 
combustibility.  From  having  names  given  it  which  belong  to 
far  more  valuable  species,  it  has,  in  many  places,  a  better  repu- 
tation than  it  deserves.  It  is  used,  and  that  only  for  inferior 
purposes,  where  no  other  species  of  oak  can  be  obtained. 

But,  like  some  individuals  in  a  higher  field  in  creation,  it 
compensates  in  some  measure  for  its  comparative  uselessness, 
by  its  great  beauty.  No  other  oak  flourishes  so  readily  in  every 
situation;  no  other  is  of  so  rapid  growth;  no  other  surpasses  it 
in  beauty  of  foliage  and  of  trunk ;  no  oak  attains,  in  this  cli- 
mate, to  more  magnificent  dimensions;  no  tree,  except  the  white 
oak,  gives  us  so  noble  an  idea  of  strength. 

A  red  oak,  in  Lancaster,  at  the  foot  of  George's  Hill,  west  of 
the  north  branch  of  the  Nashua,  measured,  in  1840,  seventeen 
feet  in  circumference,  at  three  feet  from  the  ground,  and  fourteen 
feet  ten  inches,  at  six.  A  wall  prevented  its  being  measured 
at  the  surface,  where  it  is  much  larger.  It  continues  very 
large  for  eighteen  or  twenty  feet,  when  it  divides  into  four  or 
five  very  large  limbs,  which  spread  and  form  a  fine  round  head. 
I  have  found  many  other  large  trees. 

It  is  of  singularly  rapid  growth  from  the  stump,  the  shoots 
rising  sometimes  to  six  feet  or  more  in  one  season.     Careful 


150       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

measurements  of  a  great  number  of  trees  recently  felled,  show 
that,  for  the  first  thirty-five  years,  this  tree  increases  at  the 
rate  of  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  every  eleven  years. 

Next  to  the  red  oak  the  younger  Michaux  placed  the  gray 
oak,  which,  however,  after  a  vast  deal  of  examination,  I  am 
obliged  to  consider  as  only  that  form  of  the  red  oak,  which  most 
usually  occurs  throughout  the  New  England  States.  The  leaf 
which  he  has  figured  for  that  of  the  gray  oak,  is  by  far  the 
most  common  form  of  the  leaf  of  the  red  oak,  on  all  young  and 
growing  trees.  The  fruit  is  such  as  is  often  found  on  the  red 
oak,  the  cup  varying  on  different  trees,  by  imperceptible  grada- 
tions, from  a  shape  shallower  and  broader  than  that  he  has  fig- 
ured for  the  red  oak,  to  one  narrower  than  that  he  has  given  to 
the.  gray  oak. 

Sp.  11.     The  Bear  Oak.     Querciis  ilicifolia.     Willdenow. 

Figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  I,  Plate  21 ;  and  in  Plate  11  of  this  volume. 

This  little  oak  is  found  on  poor  soils  in  every  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts. It  is  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  scrub 
oak,  or  dwarf  red  oak,  and  sometimes  bear  oak,  from  the  fond- 
ness of  bears  for  its  fruit.  It  is  usually  not  more  than  six  or 
eight  feet  high,  and  an  inch  or  two  in  diameter,  but  sometimes 
attains  the  height  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  feet,  and  the  diameter  of 
eight  or  nine  inches.  It  is  covered  with  numerous  large,  scraggy 
branches,  with  small  branchlets. 

The  recent  branchlets  are  of  a  light  ashen  gray,  greenish,  or 
of  a  clouded  brown,  with  a  velvet-downy  surface.  Older  ones, 
greenish,  dotted  with  gray.  Stem,  a  rich  green,  with  numerous 
dots,  and  occasionally  light  clouds,  and  a  transparent,  pearly, 
shining  epidermis,  growing  darker  when  old,  covered  in  patches, 
and  often  completely  covered,  like  other  smooth-barked  trees, 
with  lichens  of  various  colors,  usually  dark,  or  nearly  white. 

Prom  the  axil  of  the  lower  leaves  on  the  newly  formed  shoots, 
rise,  on  short  footstalks,  next  year's  fruits,  two  or  three  together, 
crowned  with  their  three  stigmas. 

The  leaves  are  on  short  petioles,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  obo- 
vate,  somewhat  lyre-shaped,  with  two  or  three  obtuse  sinuses 


II.     1.  THE  BEAR  OAK.  151 

on  each  side,  the  larger  ones  below  the  middle  of  the  leaf,  the 
lobes  ending  in  a  bristle,  or  often  entire,  four  or  five-angled,  as 
broad  as  long ;  of  a  deep  shiny  green  color  and  smooth  above, 
whitish  or  ashen-downy  beneath,  the  down  abundant  in  the 
axils  of  the  veins. 

The  leaves  are  about  two  and  one-half  inches  long,  and  one 
and  one-quarter  or  one  and  one-half  broad,  on  petioles  often 
very  short,  often  one-half  or  three-fourths  the  length  of  the  leaf. 

The  acorns  are  often  beautifully  striped  longitudinally.  The 
base  of  the  acorn,  where  it  is  attached  to  the  cup,  is  of  a  deep 
orange,  as  is  the  kernel. 

The  sterile  flowers  are  in  thread-like  catkins,  one  to  two  inches 
long,  on  the  base  of  the  recent  shoots,  or  scattered  profusely 
along  last  year's  shoot,  in  the  axils  of  last  year's  leaves. 

Thread  downy;  calyx  hairy;  segments  rounded  or  torn; 
stamens  four,  on  short  filaments. 

Fertile  flowers  in  the  axil  of  the  recent  leaves,  nearly  sessile ; 
perianth  downy  ;  the  three  stigmas  prominent,  divergent. 

Leaf-stalks,  under  surface  of  the  leaves  and  recent  shoots, 
covered  with  a  soft,  grayish  down. 

The  bear  oak  is  generally  considered  of  very  little  value,  and 
is  often  regarded  as  a  nuisance.  It  might,  doubtless,  be  turned 
to  some  advantage.  It  grows  readily  in  the  most  exposed  situa- 
tions and  poorest  soils,  and  produces  a  great  abundance  of  fruit. 
Michaux  suggests  that  it  might  be  usefully  employed  as  a  hedge, 
by  being  sown  in  three  parallel  rows,  ten  or  twelve  inches 
apart.  The  plants  would  soon  attain  sufficient  height  and 
strength  to  serve  as  a  barrier  against  cattle,  and  would  be  an 
agreeable  object  to  the  eye.  It  might  also  be  employed  to  per- 
form the  office  which  it  often  performs  in  nature,  that  of  pro- 
tecting the  young  of  more  valuable  trees,  in  the  manner  which 
has  already  been  suggested  in  the  description  of  the  little  chin- 
capin  oak. 

The  oaks  found  in  New  England  naturally  arrange  them- 
selves in  four  groups,  in  the  order,  as  far  as  I  understand  their 
character,  in  which  I  have  described  them.  To  the  first  belongs 
the  white  oak,  which  is  most  nearly  allied  to  the  two  varieties 


152        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

as  the  Continental  botanists  consider  them,  of  the  European 
white  oak.  Next  to  the  white  oak,  are  to  be  arranged,  at  nearly 
equal  distances  about  it,  the  over  cup,  the  post  and  the  swamp 
white  oak,  forming  a  second  group,  with  qualities  very  nearly 
equal  to  those  of  the  first.  Of  these,  the  last  is  most  remote, 
and  connects  them  with  the  chestnut  oak  group,  to  which  the 
elder  Michaux  considered  it  as  belonging.  This  third  group 
includes  the  chestnut  oak,  the  rock  chestnut,  and  the  chinca- 
pin,  with  the  chestnut  white  oak  of  a  region  further  south.  All 
these  slide,  by  almost  imperceptible  gradations,  into  each  other. 
The  fourth  group,  entirely  distinct,  includes  the  black,  the 
scarlet,  the  red  and  the  bear  oak,  so  nearly  allied  as  to  be 
generally  considered  the  "red  oaks;"  and  in  many  places  this 
single  name  includes  them  all. 


ON  PLANTING  WITH  OAKS. 

The  value  of  oak  timber  is  already  so  great,  and  it  is  so  con- 
stantly and  surely  increasing,  from  the  diminution  of  the  home 
supply  and  the  increased  difficulty  of  getting  it  from  abroad, 
all  the  kinds  of  oak,  are,  moreover,  of  so  slow  growth,  and  the 
number  of  years  necessary  to  create  a  forest  so  very  great,  and 
dependence  on  a  foreign  supply  is  so  unsafe,  that  it  is  obviously 
important  that  means  should  be  immediately  taken  to  con- 
vert into  future  forests  some  of  the  many  thousand  acres  sus- 
ceptible of  this,  which  are  now  lying  waste. 

I  shall,  therefore,  make  no  apology  for  giving  a  brief  account 
of  the  means  which  have  been  most  successfully  used  in  England 
and  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  for  the  forming  of  oak  forests. 

In  Britain,  innumerable  experiments  have  been  tried,  ever 
since  the  days  of  Evelyn.  For  the  details  of  these,  I  must 
refer  to  the  many  publications  on  the  subject  which  have  been 
made  in  that  country,  particularly  to  Loudon's  Arboretum, 
which  gives  a  historical  view  of  all  the  most  important  ones  : — 

"Artificial  shelter,"  says  Loudon,  (Arb.,  IV,  p.  1800,)  "it  is 
allowed  by  almost  all  writers  on  the  culture  of  the  oak,  is  essen- 
tially necessary  to  ensure  the  rapid  progress  of  a  young  planta- 


ON  PLANTING  WITH  OAKS.  153 

tion.  This  arises  from  the  natural  tenderness  of  the  young  shoots 
and  early  leaves  of  the  oak,  which,  even  in  the  south  of  Eng- 
land, are  frequently  destroyed  or  much  injured  by  frost  in  May ; 
while,  in  elevated  situations,  it  is  found  that  even  the  bark  does 
not  so  easily  separate  from  the  wood  of  standing  trees  after  a 
cold  night.  Modern  planters  seem  to  be  all  agreed,  that  the  best 
mode  of  producing  shelter  for  the  oak  is,  by  first  covering  the 
surface  with  the  Scotch  pine,  larch,  or  birch;  the  first  being 
greatly  preferred.  After  the  nurse-trees  have  grown  to  the 
height  of  four  or  five  feet,  openings  should  be  cut  in  the  planta- 
tions thus  formed,  at  the  rate  of  from  three  hundred  to  five  hun- 
dred according  to  some,  and  of  sixty  to  one  hundred  according 
to  others,  to  the  acre ;  and  in  each  of  these  openings  an  acorn, 
or  an  oak  plant  should  be  inserted,  the  soil  having  been  duly 
prepared." 

Young  oaks  are  frequently  injured  by  late  frosts  in  all  the 
lower  parts  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  precautions  directed 
above  must  be  not  less  necessary  in  our  climate  than  in  the 
comparatively  mild  one  of  England.  Instead  of  the  plants 
recommended  by  Loudon  as  nurses,  our  pitch  pine,  hacmatack, 
and  black,  yellow  or  white  birches,  might  be  used,  all  of  which 
spring  readily  from  seed. 

"  The  patches  are  prepared  by  digging  and  manuring  with 
lime;  and  each  is  planted  with  five  acorns,  one  in  the  centre 
and  four  around  it.  After  two  years'  growth,  all  the  plants 
are  removed  but  one,  by  cutting  through  their  roots,  two  inches 
or  three  inches  below  the  ground,  with  a  sharp  chisel-like  in- 
strument with  a  long  handle,  made  on  purpose  ;  the  plants  re- 
moved not  being  intended  to  be  replanted.  As  soon  as  the 
nurses  overshadow  the  oaks,  the  plants  that  do  so,  or  their 
branches,  are  to  be  removed ;  but  '  all  the  Scotch  pines  and 
larches  that  will  require  to  be  taken  out  before  they  are  sixteen 
years  old,'  Mr.  Cruickshanksays,  '  will  not  render  the  plantation 
thinner  than  a  thriving  one  of  the  same  kind  of  trees  would, 
for  its  own  sake,  need  to  be  at  twenty  years  after  planting." 
When  the  oaks  are  five  years  old,  they  are  to  be  pruned  for 
the  first  time,  by  cutting  off  the  lower  tier  of  branches  close  to 
the  stem  ;  and  this  operation  is  to  be  repeated  every  two  years, 
21 


154        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

till  the  oaks  are  between  thirty  and  forty  years  old.  '  Two 
thousand  of  the  Scotch  pines  and  larches,'  Cruickshank  adds, 
'may  be  allowed  to  remain,  not  only  without  injury,  but 
with  advantage,  to  the  oaks,  till  they  are  sixteen  years  old.' 
Half  of  them  may  then  be  cut  down,  one  half  of  the  remaining 
one  thousand  at  twenty-five  years  old,  and  the  remaining  five 
hundred  at  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  years  old.  'To  plant 
nurses,  therefore,  is  attended  with  very  great  pecuniary  advan- 
tage. It  will  not  only  return  the  whole  expense  laid  out  in 
making  the  plantation,  but  produce  a  very  high  rent  for  the 
land  during  the  first  thirty  or  thirty-five  years  ;  whereas,  if  oaks 
alone  were  planted,  nothing  could  be  gained  during  this  period, 
except  by  cutting  them  down  when  between  twenty  and  twenty- 
five  years  old,  for  the  sake  of  their  bark." — Arb.,  p.  1801,  1802. 

When  the  new  plantations  in  the  royal  forests,  (now  exceed- 
ing forty  thousand  acres,)  were  begun,  the  most  skilful  and 
experienced  planters  of  oaks,  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  were 
consulted,  as  to  the  best  modes  of  planting,  and  particularly  in 
reference  to  the  use  of  Scotch  pines  as  nurses.  Very  various 
and  somewhat  discordant  opinions  were  given,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, several  different  methods  were  pursued,  and  with  vari- 
ous success. 

"  For  several  years  past,"  according  to  Alexander  Milne, 
{Loudon,  p.  1803,)  the  plan  pursued  at  the  New  Forest  "is 
to  plant  the  enclosures  with  Scotch  pines  only,  as  soon  as  they 
are  fenced  in  and  drained  (if  draining  is  required)  ;  and  when 
the  pines  have  got  to  the  height  of  five  or  six  feet,  which  they 
will  do  in  as  many  years,  then  to  put  in  good  strong  oak  plants 
of  about  four  or  five  years'  growth,  among  the  pines,  not  cutting 
away  any  pines  at  first,  unless  they  happen  to  be  so  strong  and 
thick  as  to  overshadow  the  oaks.  In  about  two  years  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  shred  the  branches  of  the  pines,  to  give  light 
and  air  to  the  oaks ;  and,  in  about  two  or  three  more  years  to 
begin  gradually  to  remove  the  pines  altogether,  taking  out  a 
certain  number  each  year,  so  that,  at  the  end  of  twenty  or 
twenty-five  years,  not  a  single  Scotch  pine  shall  be  left; 
although,  for  the  first  ten  or  twelve  years,  the  plantation  may 
have  appeared  to  contain  nothing  else  but  pines.     The  advan- 


ON  PLANTING  WITH  OAKS.  155 

tage  of  this  mode  of  planting  has  been  found  to  be,  that  the 
pities  dry  and  ameliorate  the  soil,  destroying  the  coarse  grass 
and  brambles  which  frequently  choke  and  injure  oaks ;  and  that 
no  mending  over  is  necessary,  as  scarcely  an  oak  so  planted  is 
found  to  fail.  It  is  not  an  expensive  method  of  planting,  espe- 
cially if  the  plants  are  raised  on  the  spot." 

Instead  of  the  Scotch  pine,  our  pitch  pine,  which  very  nearly 
resembles  it,  might,  as  already  recommended,  be  employed  aS 
a  nurse  to  the  oaks.  The  seeds  of  the  pine  can  be  procured  in 
any  quantities,  they  easily  vegetate,  and  as  they  are  of  a  family 
entirely  remote  from  the  oaks,  their  growth  has  no  tendency  to 
deprive  the  soil  of  any  essential  nutriment. 

Iu  many  cases,  the  young  pine  woods  already  exist,  and  it 
would  be  only  necessary  to  sow  the  acorns  or  set  the  young 
plants  among  them.  As  has  just  been  seen,  the  latter  method 
has  been  preferred  in  England,  where  labor  is  much  less  ex- 
pensive than  here,  and  timber  is  so  much  more  valuable,  that  it 
is  of  great  importance  to  save  some  years  in  the  growth  of  the 
trees,  as  is  supposed  to  be  done  by  the  planting  of  young  trees. 
But,  in  consequence  of  the  great  cost  of  labor  in  this  country, 
it  would  be  desirable  to  sow  the  acorns  where  the  trees  are  to 
stand,  if  any  Avay  could  be  contrived  to  defend  them  from  mice 
and  squirrels ;  and  this  might  probably  be  done  by  sowing  a 
sufficient  quantity  to  allow  for  the  destruction  which  would  be 
caused  by  these  animals.  And  there  are  many  arboriculturists, 
even  in  England,  who  prefer  to  sow  the  acorn  where  the  tree  is 
to  remain. 

As  to  the  management  of  the  acorn,  the  following  extract 
from  Loudon  will  give  the  most  approved  mode: — "the  acorns 
need  not  to  be  gathered  from  the  tree,  but  may  be  collected  from 
the  ground  immediately  after  they  have  dropped ;  and,  as  in 
the  case  of  other  tree  seeds,  they  may  be  either  sown  then,  or 
kept  till  the  following  spring.  If  they  are  to  be  kept,  they 
should  be  made  perfectly  dry  in  the  sun,  or  in  an  airy  shed, 
mixed  with  dry  sand,  in  the  proportion  of  three  bushels  of  sand 
to  one  bushel  of  acorns,  or  with  dry  moss ;  and  then  excluded 
from  the  air  and  vermin,  by  being  put  into  barrels  or  boxes,  or 
laid  up  in  a  cellar,  or  buried  in  heaps,  and  covered  with  a  suffi- 


156       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

cient  thickness  of  earth  to  exclude  the  weather.  If  the  acorns 
are  to  be  transported  from  one  country  to  another,  the  same 
mixing  with  dry  sand  or  dry  moss,  and  exclusion  from  the  air, 
is  adopted:  but  the  more  certain  mode  of  retaining  the  vital 
principle  in  acorns  is,  to  mix  them  with  moist  earth,  or  with 
moist  live  moss  {Sphagnum) :  in  either  of  the  latter  mediums, 
they  will  germinate  during  a  long  voyage;  but  no  evil  will 
result  from  this,  provided  they  are  sown  immediately  on  their 
arrival.  When  acorns  are  to  be  sown  in  a  nursery,  the  soil 
ought  to  be  thoroughly  prepared  and  rendered  fine ;  and,  after 
the  earth  is  drawn  off  the  beds,  or  the  drills  opened,  the  acorns 
may  either  be  scattered  over  the  beds,  or  along  the  drills,  so 
that  the  nuts  may  be  about  two  inches  apart ;  and,  to  regulate 
this  distance  with  greater  certainty,  the  sand  may  be  separated 
from  the  acorns  with  a  sieve.  In  either  case,  the  acorns,  before 
covering,  must  be  patted  down  with  the  back  of  a  spade  in  the 
beds,  and  with  the  back  of  a  wooden-headed  rake  in  the  drills. 
The  covering,  which  ought  to  be  of  well-broken  soil,  should 
vary  in  depth,  according  to  the  size  of  the  acorn ;  one  and  one- 
half  inches  being  enough  for  those  of  the  largest  size,  and  one  half 
inch  for  those  of  the  smallest  size.  No  mode  of  depositing  acorns 
in  the  soil  can  be  worse  than  that  of  dropping  them  in  holes." 
It  is  often  asked  why  young  trees,  generally,  and  oaks  in 
particular,  when  imported  from  the  nurseries  in  England,  suc- 
ceed more  certainly  and  grow  more  rapidly  than  similar  plants 
taken  from  woods  or  open  grounds  in  the  neighborhood.  One 
reason  probably  is,  that  all  the  oaks  throw  down  a  long  tap- 
root, and  for  the  first  few  years  have  very  few  lateral  fibres.* 

*  Another  reason  is,  that  young  trees  taken  from  a  nursery,  have  been  some- 
what exposed  to  the  sun's  direct  light,  and  to  the  wind.  Whereas,  when  taken 
from  the  forest,  they  are  often  transplanted  from  completely  sheltered  situations, 
where  they  have  been  protected  from  sun,  wind  and  cold,  and  have,  in  conse- 
quence, a  thin,  delicate  bark,  inadequate  to  protect  them  in  a  new  and  more  ex- 
posed situation.  Young  trees  should  be  taken,  for  transplantation,  from  openings 
in  the  forest  or  from  the  edges,  where  they  have  been  somewhat  exposed,  and 
thereby  prepared  to  sustain  the  exposure  to  which  they  will  be  subjected.  Other- 
wise they  suffer,  just  as  the  young  of  any  other  living  beings  would,  which,  after 
having  been  nurtured  delicately  and  in  seclusion,  should  be  suddenly  exposed, 
unprotected,  to  the  inclemencies  of  the  elements. 


ON  PLANTING  WITH  OAKS.  157 

When,  therefore,  a  young  tree  is  removed  at  once  from  the  spot 
on  which  it  grew,  to  that  on  which  it  is  to  stand,  the  end  of 
the  tap-root  is  almost  necessarily  broken  off  or  much  injured, 
always  much  retarding, — sometimes  fatally, — the  progress  of 
the  young  tree.  To  obviate  this  evil,  the  French  nurserymen 
make  the  acorn  or  other  seed  germinate  in  moist  earth  or  saw- 
dust, and,  before  planting  it,  pinch  off  the  end  of  the  root.  This 
causes  the  plant  immediately  to  throw  out  side  fibres.  For  the 
same  purpose,  it  is  the  practice  in  England  either  to  transplant 
the  oak  after  one  or  two  years'  growth,  removing  at  the  time  a 
part  of  the  tap-root,  or  to  cut  it  off  without  removing,  by  insert- 
ing a  spade,  obliquely,  six  or  eight  inches  beneath  the  surface. 
In  either  case,  the  plant  has  several  roots  to  depend  upon,  in 
place  of  its  single  original  tap-root.  In  some  cases,  after  it  has 
grown  in  the  place  where  it  is  to  remain,  for  two  or  three  years, 
it  is  cut  down  to  the  ground ;  it  will  then  throw  up  vigorous 
shoots,  and  send  down  perpendicular  roots.  All  but  the  most 
promising  of  the  shoots  may  be  carefully  removed.  This  has 
been  tried  with  marked  success  by  Morrill  Allen,  of  Pembroke, 
who  has  paid  much  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the  oak. 

The  foreign  oaks  which  seem  most  worthy  of  cultivation  in 
this  State,  are  the  two  native  oaks  of  England.  Both  these 
have  been  introduced,  and  are  growing  in  various  situations 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston.  They  are  perfectly  adapted 
to  our  climate,  and  flourish  as  well  and  grow  as  rapidly,  and 
mature  their  abundant  acorns  as  surely,  as  any  of  our  own 
oaks,  except  the  red.  When  young,  they  are  extremely  beau- 
tiful and  ornamental,  and,  when  full  grown,  they  are  among 
the  most  magnificent  trees  known.  The  sessile-fruited  oak, 
(Qucrcus  sessilijlora,)  is  considered  less  valuable;  the  stalk- 
fruited  (Quercus  pedimadala,)  being  now  almost  universally 
preferred  as  a  far  superior  tree.  As  objects  of  beauty,  and  for 
their  value  in  the  art  of  ornamental  culture,  as  well  as  for  use, 
no  foreign  trees  present  so  strong  claims  to  our  attention. 

The  oaks  are  better  fitted  than  almost  any  other  trees,  to 
stand  along  the  borders  of  cultivated  fields ;  as,  where  the  soil 
is  deep  enough  to  allow  it,  they  send  their  roots  to  a  consider- 
able depth,  and  thus  disturb  but  slightly  the  growth  of  grass  and 
other  herbaceous  plants  and  low  shrubs. 


158       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


II.     2.    THE  BEECH.     FAG  US.     Tournefort. 

Lofty,  spreading  trees  of  the  cool  regions  of  Europe  and 
America,  distinguished  for  their  smooth  ashen  or  bluish  grey 
bark,  and  three-cornered  oily  nuts,  protected  by  a  bristly  or 
prickly,  four-cleft  bur.  The  leaves  are  annual,  alternate  and 
plaited  while  in  the  bud,  which  is  sessile,  and  covered  with 
imbricate  scales.  The  male  flowers  are  in  roundish,  tassel-like 
aments,  dependent  by  a  long,  silken  thread.  The  females,  in 
roundish,  sessile  aments.  Of  this  genus,  there  are  only  five  or 
six  species  yet  known ;  one  is  the  common  beech  of  Europe, 
and  the  western  part  of  Asia,  and  of  this,  the  American  is 
supposed  to  be  a  variety ;  two  are  found  in  Chili ;  one  or  two, 
possibly  three,  are  natives  of  Terra  del  Fuego. 

The  American  Beech.     F.  Sylvatica,  L,  var.  Americana,  Nut- 
tall.     Sylvestris.  Michaux. 

Figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  107;  Abbott's  Insects  of  Georgia,  II, 

Plate  75. 

For  depth  of  shade,  no  tree  is  equal  to  the  beech,  and  as  it  is 
singularly  clean  and  neat,  and  the  leaves  are  liable  to  the  attack 
of  few  insects,  and  remain  on  the  branches  longer  than  those  of 
any  deciduous  tree,  giving  a  cheerful  aspect  to  the  wood  in 
winter,  it  deserves  cultivation  near  houses. 

The  roots  do  not  penetrate  deeply,  but  extend,  just  below  the 
surface,  to  some  distance  on  every  side.  The  stem  is  remark- 
able for  its  smooth  bark,  of  a  whitish  or  bluish  grey,  or  lead 
color,  sprinkled  with  ash.  When  growing  freely,  it  is  an  erect, 
often  fluted  column  of  eight  or  ten  to  twenty  feet,  at  which 
height,  it  throws  out,  in  every  direction,  many  long,  diverging 
or  radiating  arms,  stretching  upwards  and  outwards,  at  a  large 
angle  with  the  trunk.  The  lower  branches  of  the  lower  of 
these,  gradually  become  horizontal,  while  the  upper  ones  ramify 
so  as  to  form  a  broad,  round,  dense  head.  In  the  thick  woods, 
it  shoots  up  in  a  straight,  erect  trunk,  to  a  height  of  sixty  or 
seventy  feet,  clear,  or  with  here  and  there  a  small,  slender 
branch.  The  branches  of  the  tree  growing  freely,  or  on  the 
edge  of  a  wood,  are  sometimes  large,  but  more  frequently  small, 


II.     2.  THE  BEECH.  159 

numerous,  and  irregular ;  the  branchlets  various,  every  second 
or  third  larger  than  the  others ;  the  spray  short  and  distant,  mak- 
ing sharp  angles,  slender  and  tapering  to  a  point,  with  shining, 
deep  purple  bark,  or  of  a  beautiful  chestnut  red,  indistinctly 
dotted  with  brown.  The  older  branches  become  grayish,  and 
gradually  assume  the  blue  gray  of  the  trunk.  On  small  trees, 
the  bark  is  of  a  light,  polished  leaden  gray.  The  tree  has  its 
finest  shape  when  growing  in  an  open  forest,  which  has  been 
made  so  by  gradual  clearing.  It  then  unites  magnificent  height 
with  great  amplitude  and  length  of  head. 

In  an  old  tree  the  bark  is  rarely  seen.  But  every  part  is 
usually  covered  with  thin,  membranaceous  lichens,  {Lccano?*as, 
Lecideas,  letter-like  Opegraphas^)  in  clouds  of  every  shade  of 
white,  gray,  and  brown,  outside,  which  are  often  large  patches 
of  gray,  yellow,  and  sulphur-colored  foliaceous  lichens,  (Pw- 
melias).  Near  the  bottom,  when  growing  in  the  forest,  it  is 
pencilled  with  delicate,  threadlike,  branching  jungermannias, 
and  about  its  base,  has  tufts  of  green  and  purple  mosses. 

In  winter,  it  is  distinguishable  by  its  long,  spindle-shaped, 
pointed  buds. 

From  the  density  of  the  shade,  from  the  slowness  of  the 
decay  of  the  leaves,  and  from  the  fact  that  the  roots  run  near 
the  surface,  few  herbaceous  plants  are  found  beneath  the  beech. 
From  these  roots,  however,  young  trees  are  often  seen  to  spring, 
and  this  seems  to  be  one  of  the  ways  in  which  the  beech  is  prop- 
agated. When  a  tree  is  felled,  the  trunk  throws  out  a  profu- 
sion of  shoots,  which  flourish  for  a  year  or  two  and  then  perish. 
The  leaves,  on  these  shoots,  are  usually  of  a  rich  crimson  color. 

The  leaves,  on  old,  fruit-bearing  limbs,  are  in  stars  of  four  or 
five,  at  the  ends  of  the  branchlets.  On  the  growing  shoots,  they 
are  alternate,  often  inequilateral,  on  short,  often  hairy  petioles, 
which  grow  from  the  under  side  of  a  branch  and  bend  upwards. 
They  are  broad,  lanceolate,  narrowed  below  and  somewhat 
heart-shaped,  acuminate ;  the  nerves  parallel,  never  branched, 
ending  in  a  single,  large  tooth.  The  surface  is  polished  and 
shining,  lighter  beneath  and  hairy  while  young;  texture  thin 
and  membranaceous.  The  leaves  come  out  late,  but  often  re- 
main on  the  tree  through  the  winter.  The  stipules  are  very 
long,  slender,  delicate  and  very  transient. 


160       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  showy  and  beautiful  flowers  are  in  roundish  tassels  or 
heads,  dependent  by  threadlike,  silky  stalks,  of  one  or  two 
inches  in  length,  from  the  midst  of  the  young  leaves  of  a  newly 
opened  bud,  whose  long,  delicate,  ribbon-like  scales  are  still  ad- 
hering. Each  flower  is  a  hairy  or  silky,  bell-shaped  cup,  with 
its  border  divided  into  six  segments,  and  contains  usually  from 
six  to  twelve  stamens.  The  fruit  is  on  a  hairy  footstalk,  from 
the  axil  of  a  leaf.  The  footstalk  enlarges  upwards  into  four 
fleshy,  lanceolate  scales,  fringed,  and  set  with  stiff,  sometimes 
double  prickles.  As  it  ripens,  these  open,  disclosing  two  prisma- 
tic triangular  nuts,  whose  edges  thin  out  into  a  waved  border. 

The  fruit,  called  beech  mast,  is  a  rich,  oily  nut.  It  is  eagerly 
devoured  by  pigeons,  partridges,  squirrels,  and  other  wild 
animals.  Bears  are  said  to  have  been  very  fond  of  it,  and 
swine  rapidly  fatten  upon  it.  Most  varieties  are  so  small  as 
not  very  richly  to  repay  the  trouble  of  gathering,  drying,  and 
opening  them.  Fortunately,  this  is  not  the  case  with  all,  as 
the  mast  is  a  delicious  nut.  In  France,  the  beech  mast  is 
much  used  for  making  oil,  which  is  highly  valued  for  burning 
in  lamps,  and  for  cooking.  In  parts  of  the  same  country,  the 
nuts,  roasted,  serve  as  a  substitute  for  coffee.* 

The  leaves  were  formerly  used  in  Britain,  and  are,  to  this 
day,  in  some  parts  of  Europe,  for  filling  beds.f  Evelyn  says 
that,  "its  very  leaves,  which  make  a  natural  and  most  agree- 
able canopy  all  the  summer,  being  gathered  about  the  fall, 
and  somewhat  before  they  are  much  frost-bitten,  afford  the 
best  and  the  easiest  mattresses  in  the  world,  to  lay  under  our 
quilts,  instead  of  straw;  because,  besides  their  tenderness  and 
loose  lying  together,  they  continue  sweet  for  seven  or  eight 
years  long  ;  before  which  time,  straw  becomes  musty  and  hard  : 
they  are  thus  used  by  divers  persons  of  quality  in  Dauphine  ; 
and,  in  Switzerland,  I  have  sometimes  lain  on  them  to  my  very 
great  refreshment.     So  as,  of  this  tree  it  may  properly  be  said, 

'  Silva  domus,  cubilia  frondes.' — Jicv. 

'The  wood's  an  house,  the  leaves  a  bed.' " — Sylva,  Hunter's  ed.,  p.  141-2. 

"  We  can,"  says  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder,  after  quoting  this 
passage,  "  from  our  own  experience,  bear  testimony  to  the  truth 

*  Loudon's  Arboretum,  p.  1963.  f  Ibid. 


II.     2.  THE  BEECH.  161 

of  what  Evelyn  says  here,  as  to  the  excellence  of  beech  leaves 
for  mattresses.  We  used  always  to  think  that  the  most  luxu- 
rious and  refreshing  bed  was  that  which  prevails  universally 
in  Italy,  and  which  consists  of  an  absolute  pile  of  mattresses 
filled  with  the  elastic  spathe  of  the  Indian  corn ;  which  beds 
have  the  advantage  of  being  soft,  as  well  as  elastic ;  and  we 
have  always  found  the  sleep  enjoyed  on  them  to  be  peculiarly 
sound  and  restorative.  But  the  beds  made  of  beech  leaves 
are  really  no  whit  behind  them  in  these  qualities,  whilst  the 
fragrant  smell  of  green  tea,  which  the  leaves  retain,  is  most 
gratifying.  The  objection  to  them  is  the  slight  crackling  noise 
which  the  leaves  occasion,  as  the  individual  turns  in  bed ;  but 
this  is  no  inconvenience  at  all,  or,  if  so  in  any  degree,  it  is  an 
inconvenience  which  is  much  overbalanced  by  the  advantages 
of  this  most  luxuriant  couch." 

The  white  beech  grows  in  every  part  of  Massachusetts,  but 
it  is  only  in  the  forests  of  the  western  part,  that  it  attains  its 
greatest  height.  It  is  there  sometimes  not  less  than  one  hun- 
dred feet  high. 

It  flourishes  best  in  a  rocky,  moist  soil,  and  where  this  is  rich, 
it  grows  with  great  rapidity,  sometimes  increasing  two-thirds  of 
an  inch  in  diameter  in  a  single  year. 

The  wood  is  hard,  of  a  fine,  smooth,  close  grain,  and  very 
dense,  having  a  specific  gravity  of  .724.  It  is  excellent  for 
the  turner's  use,  and  fine  large  bowls,  trenchers,  and  trays  are 
made  of  it.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  country,  it  is  much 
used  as  fuel,  and  ranks  next  to  rock  maple. 

It  is  preferred  to  all  other  woods  for  the  making  of  plane 
stocks ;  and  for  this  purpose,  the  wood  which  has  grown  most 
rapidly  is  found  not  only  to  have  the  smoothest  and  closest 
grain,  but  to  be  most  durable,  and  least  liable  to  warp.  Plane 
stocks  are,  therefore,  usually  made  of  the  outer,  white,  or  sap 
wood,  the  heart,  or  red,  being  less  tough. 

It  is  also  used  for  chair  posts,  of  which  great  numbers  are 
made  of  it,  in  Becket  and  the  neighboring  towns.  It  is  used 
for  saw  handles,  and  for  bodies  of  carts,  it  answers  well  for  lasts, 
and  is  preferred  for  the  cylinders  used  in  polishing  glass. 

It  is  a  valuable  wood  for  fuel,  comparing  with  hickory,  accord - 
22 


162        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ing  to  Bull,  as  65  to  100,  and  its  ashes  furnish  a  great  quantity 
of  potash. 

The  beech  is  of  very  rapid  growth.  But  it  is  seldom  found 
over  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  is  universally 
considered  a  comparatively  short-lived  tree.  Large  trees  are 
very  often  found  decayed  at  heart ;  and  it  probably  reaches 
maturity  and  begins  to  decay,  in  less  than  two  centuries. 

From  its  rapid  growth  and  thick  shade,  it  recommends  itself 
as  a  screen  against  wind,  to  give  shelter  to  a  garden.  But  it 
has  the  disadvantage  that  nothing  will  grow  under  it,  nor  well, 
very  near  it.  It  is  wanting  in  gracefulness,  but  there  is  an 
animating  play  of  light  from  its  polished  leaves,  and  this,  con- 
trasting with  its  great  depth  of  shade,  makes  it  an  agreeable 
object. 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  more  than  one  kind  of  beech  in 
Massachusetts.  The  workers  in  the  wood  speak  commonly  of 
the  white  and  the  red ;  and  I  have  often  gone  in  pursuit  of  the 
varieties.  But  I  have  not  succeeded  in  detecting  any  specific 
difference,  and  believe  the  appearance  in  the  wood,  which  has 
given  rise  to  these  names,  to  be  produced  by  the  more  or  less 
rapid  maturation  of  the  wood.  The  heart  wood  is  of  a  reddish 
hue.  Where  it  predominates,  the  log  is  called  red  beech. 
Timber,  in  which  the  white  sap  wood  is  most  conspicuous,  is 
called  white  beech. 

The  beech  is  said  never  to  be  struck  by  lightning.  In  trav- 
elling through  a  forest  country,  many  oaks  may  be  found  which 
have  been  so  struck,  but  never  a  beech. 

The  beech  of  Europe  differs  so  little  from  varieties  of  the 
American,  that  some  botanists  think  them  one  species.  There 
is  doubtless  a  resemblance.  But  I  am  inclined  to  consider  them 
distinct ;  much  more  distinct,  certainly,  than  any  varieties  which 
I  have  been  able  to  find  in  New  England,  are  from  each  other. 
The  leaves  of  the  European  beech  are  well  characterized  by 
Willdenow  as  "ovate,  smooth,  obsoletely  dentate,  and  ciliate 
on  the  margin."  They  are  acute  at  each  extremity.  Those  of 
our  beech  are  narrow  at  base,  and  usually  heart-shaped,  decid- 
edly serrate  or  sometimes  dentate,  acuminate,  and  ciliate  only 


II.     3.  THE  CHESTNUT.  163 

while  young;  when  they  are  not  narrowed  at  base,  they  are 
strongly  cordate.  They  are  much  larger  than  those  of  the 
European,  and  longer  in  proportion  to  their  breadth;  and  the 
petiole,  as  well  as  the  stalk  of  the  fruit,  is  much  less  hairy. 
The  aspect  of  the  two  trees  is  nearly  the  same.  In  the  Euro- 
pean, the  difference  between  the  sap  and  the  mature  wood  is 
very  slight ;  in  the  American  it  is  striking.  I  have  retained 
the  specific  name  Sylvatica,  as  that  by  which  our  beech  has 
been  generally  known. 

There  are  several  beautiful  varieties  of  the  European,  prop- 
agated by  budding,  grafting,  or  in-arching,  which  deserve  the 
attention  of  American  arboriculturists.  Among  the  most  re- 
markable, are  the  purple,  or  copper  beech,  and  the  weeping. 
The  original  tree  from  which  all  the  varieties  of  the  former  of 
these  have  been  propagated,  is  said  to  have  been  discovered,  by 
accident,  in  a  wood  in  Germany,  towards  the  end  of  the  last 
century,  and  it  is  supposed  to  be  still  standing.  "  In  early  spring, 
when  the  leaves  of  the  purple  beech  are  agitated  by  the  wind, 
during  bright  sunshine,  their  clear  red  gives  the  tree  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  on  fire;  an  effect,  Bosc  observes,  so  truly 
magical,  that  it  is  scarcely  credible  by  those  who  have  not  seen 
it." — Loudon. 

II.    3.    THE  CHESTNUT.     CASTANEA,  Toumefort. 

A  genus  containing  a  single  European  species,  which  is  also 
American,  two  dwarf  species  found  in  this  country,  an  ever- 
green species  on  the  hills  of  Oregon,  and  several  species  lately 
discovered  in  Nepal  and  Java,  in  Asia ; — with  deciduous,  alter- 
nate, usually  long, 'narrow  and  pointed  leaves.  The  male  flow- 
ers are  in  long,  showy,  rigid,  axillary  aments,  which  appear 
late,  and  soon  fall ;  the  female  in  a  bristling  involucre,  which 
enlarges  to  a  prickly  bur,  containing  from  one  to  three,  smooth, 
roundish,  thin-shelled,  farinaceous  nuts.  It  has  a  near  alliance 
with  the  beech. 


164       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


The  American  Chestnut.     Castanea  vesca,  Gaertner,  var. 

Americana,  Michaux. 

Figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  III,  Plate  104. 

This  is  one  of  the  largest  and  tallest  of  our  forest  trees.  It 
rises  with  a  straight,  erect  stem,  hardly  diminishing  in  size,  to 
the  height  of  sixty  or  seventy,  and,  in  the  forests  in  the  south- 
west part  of  the  State,  to  ninety  or  one  hundred  feet.  The 
bark  on  the  old  stocks  is  of  a  dark  color,  very  hard  and  rugged, 
with  long  and  deep  clefts.  In  smaller  trees,  it  is  remarkably 
smooth,  and  so  continues  till  they  have  attained  a  considerable 
size.  When  they  are  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter,  it  begins  to 
crack  with  long,  superficial  cracks,  at  the  distance  of  two  or 
three  inches  from  each  other.  On  each  side  of  a  branch,  in  the 
bark,  is  an  oblique  cleft ;  the  two  meeting  above  the  branch. 

The  recent  shoots  are  large,  of  a  deep  green,  or  bronzed,  or 
purplish  brown  color,  channelled  with  two  grooves  running 
down  from  the  base  of  each  leaf,  and  closely  set  with  prominent 
white  or  gray  dots.     The  older  shoots  are  of  a  darker  color. 

The  leaves,  which  often  come  out  in  a  diverging  or  radiant 
manner,  are  very  long,  from  six  to  nine,  and  often  ten  or 
twelve  inches,  and  one  to  two  and  a  half  or  three  inches  wide, 
lance-shaped,  tapering  or  rounded  at  base,  ending  in  a  very 
long  point.  The  principal  veins,  which  are  regular,  undivided 
and  parallel,  end  in  long,  bent  points,  which  are  separated  by 
large,  curved  indentations.  They  are  green  and  polished 
above,  and  smooth  and  paler  beneath,  and  are  supported  by 
stout  footstalks,  half  an  inch  or  an  inch  long.  While  quite 
young,  they  are  covered  with  a  glandular  viscidity,  but  soon 
become  smooth  on  both  surfaces.  On  vigorous  shoots  from  the 
stump,  a  pair  of  somewhat  glutinous  stipules,  broad  at  base, 
and  tapering  to  a  point,  defends  the  tender  leaf,  and  continues, 
bristling  at  right  angles,  to  protect  it,  until  the  footstalk  is 
longer  than  they,  when  they  fall  off. 

The  male  flowers,  which  come  out  later  than  those  of  any 

ther  forest  tree,  are  in  large,  spreading  bunches  of  stiff  catkins, 

as  long  as  the  leaves,  of  a  yellowish  green  color,  and  conspicuous 


II.    3.  THE  CHESTNUT.  165 

at  a  distance,  like  pale  yellow  rays,  on  the  ends  of  the  branches. 
They  spring  from  the  axil  of  the  leaves,  or  are  alternate,  like 
the  leaves,  on  the  ends  of  the  branches.  The  flowers  are  clus- 
tered in  scattered  groups,  along  the  stalk  of  the  catkin,  and, 
when  shedding  their  pollen,  emit  a  strong  and  rather  unpleasant 
odor.  The  fertile  flowers  are  in  burs,  in  the  axil  of  the  upper 
leaves,  or,  more  frequently,  near  the  base  of  the  uppermost 
stalks  of  the  sterile  flowers ;  they  are  single,  or  two,  three  or 
more,  near  each  other.  The  burs  are,  at  the  time  of  flowering, 
about  half  an  inch  long,  on  short,  stout  stalks,  and  are  invested 
with  crowded  leaves  and  prickles,  then  very  tender. 

The  fruit  is  covered  with  a  bur,  completely  invested  with 
crowded,  sharp,  and  stiff"  bristles,  which  are  not  easily  handled 
with  impunity.  It  opens,  when  mature,  by  four  valves,  more 
than  half  way  down,  and  contains  the  nuts,  from  one  to  three 
in  number,  in  a  downy  cup.  The  nuts  are  roundish-ovate, 
tapering  to  a  point,  smooth  below,  and  of  a  chestnut  brown,  and 
covered  with  a  tawny  down  towards  the  tip.  When  more  than 
one  are  in  the  bur,  their  contiguous  sides  are  flattened. 

In  October,  the  fruit  of  the  chestnut  forms  a  tuft  of  lively, 
yellowish  green,  on  the  end  of  the  branches,  a  striking  object 
among  the  darker  foliage. 

The  chestnut  tree  is  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Mousum  river, 
in  the  county  of  York,  in  Maine,  a  little  beyond  the  43d  par- 
allel of  latitude,  and  thence  southward,  as  far  as  Florida,  and 
in  the  Western  States.  It  is  found  in  every  part  of  Massachu- 
setts, but  does  not  readily  and  abundantly  ripen  its  fruit  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  sea.  In  all  other  parts,  it  yields 
an  abundance  of  sweet  and  delicious  nuts.  Botanists  consider 
it  of  the  same  species  as  the  sweet,  or  Spanish  chestnut  of 
Europe.  That  tree  was,  originally,  a  native  of  Asia,  and 
was  introduced  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans  into  the  south  of 
Europe,  from  which  it  has  long  since  extended  into  the  north 
and  west.  It  was  called  Castanea,  by  the  Greeks,  from  a 
town  of  that  name  in  Pontus,  whence  they  obtained  it;  and 
it  gave  its  name  to  a  town  of  Thessaly,  to  which  it  was 
early  transplanted.  It  is  probable  that  only  the  choicest  vari- 
eties were  propagated  ;  and  yet  the  fruit  of  most  of  the  varieties 


166         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

now  growing  in  Europe,  are  not  considered  suitable  food  for 
man.  Those  which  furnish  so  large  a  portion  of  the  food  of 
all  classes,  in  the  southern  countries  of  Europe,  and  an  im- 
portant article  of  export,  are  cultivated  varieties,  with  larger 
and  sweeter  nuts.  This  is  an  important  fact.  The  nuts  of 
the  American  tree  are  decidedly  superior  in  flavor  to  most  of 
those  cultivated  in  Europe,  but  are  much  smaller,  hardly  a 
fourth  part  the  size  of  the  larger  ones.  Size  and  improved 
quality  are  the  consequence  of  cultivation.  By  selecting  the 
most  valuable  varieties  of  our  native  trees,  and  improving  them 
by  the  arts  of  culture,  we  may  hereafter  obtain  fruit  superior  to 
any  now  known.  The  extraordinarily  rapid  growth  of  the 
chestnut  tree  will  give  great  facilities  for  the  improvement  of 
the  species ;  and  the  abundance  of  the  harvest  from  trees, 
affords  another  security  against  the  failure  incident  to  crops 
from  bad  seasons.  The  valuable  varieties  of  the  foreign  tree 
may  be  introduced  by  grafting,  or  by  planting.  The  grafts,  or 
plants,  of  the  most  desirable  kinds,  may  be  readily  imported 
from  the  nurseries  of  France  and  England ;  and  they  may  be 
found  already  growing  in  Winship's  and  other  nurseries  in 
this  State. 

The  wood  of  the  chestnut  is  coarse-grained,  the  circles  of 
growth  being  separated  by  numerous  large  pores  or  rather  tubes ; 
but  it  is  strong  and  elastic,  and  very  durable,  even  when  ex- 
posed to  alternations  of  dryness  and  moisture.  It  is,  therefore, 
of  great  value  for  posts,  which,  when  charred,  will  last  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  for  rails,  in  which  form  it  will  last  half  a 
century.  It  is  also  much  used,  as  a  substitute  for  oak  and  pine, 
in  building;  beams  and  joists,  and  other  parts  of  the  frame  made 
of  it,  being  almost  imperishable.  It  is  used  for  shingles,  but  is 
less  valuable  for  this  purpose,  on  account  of  its  warping  when 
exposed  to  heat.  It  is  extensively  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  furniture.  In  the  frame-work  of  articles  to  be  covered 
with  veneers  of  mahogany  or  other  ornamental  wood,  it  stands 
better  than  any  other  native  wood.  The  frames  of  bureaus 
and  sofas,  and  the  bottom  and  sides  of  drawers  are  made  of  it. 
For  these  purposes  much  of  it  is  brought  into  Boston  from 
Worcester  County.     It  has  been  sometimes  used  for  hoops,  but 


II.     3.  THE  CHESTNUT.  167 

is  so  far  inferior  to  hickory  and  oak,  that  it  is  never  used  when 
they  can  be  had.     Its  specific  gravity  is  .522. 

It  is  ill  adapted  to  use  as  fuel,  except  for  closed  fires,  the  air 
in  its  numerous  pores  causing  it  to  snap  disagreeably ;  its  value, 
according  to  Bull,  being  as  52  to  100,  compared  with  hickory. 
But  it  forms  an  excellent  charcoal ;  the  younger  trees  furnishing 
the  best  and  heaviest.  For  this  purpose  Michaux  recommends 
its  cultivation  in  copses.  Its  vigorous  growth  from  the  stump 
of  a  tree  of  any  age,  recommends  it.  Springing  from  the  stump 
of  a  young  tree,  the  shoots  often  make  six  or  eight  feet  in  a 
single  year,  and  in  the  period  of  sixteen  to  twenty-five  years 
they  are  fit  to  be  cut. 

"Chestnut  copses,"  says  Michaux,  " are  considered  in  France 
as  the  most  valuable  species  of  property ;  every  seven  years 
they  are  cut  for  hoops,  and  the  largest  branches  serve  for  vine- 
props  ;  at  the  end  of  fourteen  years  they  furnish  hoops  for  large 
tubs,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty -five  years  they  are  proper  for 
posts  and  for  light  timber.  Lands  of  a  middling  quality,  which 
would  not  have  produced  a  rent  of  more  than  four  dollars  an 
acre,  in  this  way  yield  a  mean  annual  revenue  of  from  sixteen 
to  twenty-four  dollars." 

The  bark  of  the  chestnut  abounds  in  tannin  and  in  coloring 
matter.  It  is  therefore  valuable  to  the  tanner,  and  may  be 
used  by  the  dyer.  With  iron,  the  extract  may  form  an  exceed- 
ingly black  ink.  The  wood  seems  to  abound  in  tannin,  and  if 
reduced  to  chips,  it  would  probably  be  found  of  value  in  tan- 
ning leather. 

A  large  number  of  chestnut  trees,  which  had  grown  in  the 
forest,  of  from  thirty-six  to  fifty-one  years'  growth,  and  varying 
from  thirty-four  to  forty-one  inches  in  circumference,  gave, 
when  carefully  measured,  very  nearly  three-tenths  of  an  inch 
for  the  annual  growth  in  diameter  for  the  first  forty  or  forty- 
two  years.  The  circles,  taken  all  together,  were  very  nearly 
uniform.  On  the  whole,  they  were  decidedly  broader  near  the 
circumference,  showing  that  these  trees  were  still  growing,  and 
more  rapidly  than  ever  before.  The  circles  of  one  which  had 
fifty -one  circles  in  thirty-six  inches,  were  very  close  near  the 
centre, — twelve  within  one  inch.     It  had  probably  been  much 


168       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

choked  in  its  earliest  growth  by  the  surrounding  trees.  The 
two  outer  circles  only  were  sap  wood,  and  they  were  the  broad- 
est circles  of  all.  In  every  instance  save  one,  the  inner  circles 
were  considerably  the  narrowest.  The  inference  is,  that,  in  the 
old  forests,  the  chestnut  grows  less  rapidly  for  the  first  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  after  which  it  continues  to  increase  in  rapidity  of 
growth  till  it  is  upwards  of  forty-five  or  fifty  years  old.  Grow- 
ing from  the  stump,  where  the  whole  growth  has  been  felled,  it 
springs  with  excessive  rapidity  in  the  earlier  years. 

The  chestnut  tree  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  rapid  growers,  • 
but  it  attains  a  great  age.  Some  of  the  most  remarkable  trees  of 
Europe  are  chestnut  trees.  On  Mount  iEtna  is  the  famous  Cas- 
tagno  di  cento  cavalli,  so  called  from  its  having  sheltered  a  hun- 
dred mounted  cavaliers.  Brydone  found  this,  in  1770,  two 
hundred  and  four  feet  in  circumference,  and  it  had  the  appear- 
ance of  five  distinct  trees.  A  century  before,  when  seen  by 
Kircher,  they  were  united,  so  that  probably  it  had  been  one 
tree.  The  Tortworth  chestnut,  in  England,  was  fifty-two  feet 
in  girth  in  1820,  when  measured  by  Strutt.  Near  Sanserre,  in 
France,  is  a  tree  of  more  than  ten  feet  in  diameter  at  six  feet 
from  the  ground ;  it  is  supposed  to  be  a  thousand  years  old. 

The  circumstances  of  our  country  are  not  favorable  to  the 
existence  of  large  trees.  Few  of  them  attain  a  great  size  in 
the  forest,  and  in  few  places  have  the  largest  of  the  forest  been 
left  standing.  An  old  tree  is  standing  near  Meeting-house  Pond, 
in  Westminster,  which  measured  fifteen  feet  two  inches  in  cir- 
cumference at  the  ground,  in  1839,  but  diminished  rapidly,  being 
but  ten  feet  ten  inches  at  four  feet.  An  old,  low  tree,  in  the  edge 
of  Stow,  between  that  town  and  Bolton,  on  the  side  of  a  hill, 
was  fourteen  feet  two  inches  from  two  to  five  feet  from  the  sur- 
face. Several  remarkable  trees  were  standing,  in  1840,  in  the 
western  part  of  Bolton.  In  July  of  that  year,  there  was,  on  the 
land  of  Joseph  Houghton,  an  old  tree  with  an  erect  undivided 
trunk  of  forty  or  fifty  feet  and  several  large  branches  above, 
which  measured  twenty-one  feet  three  inches  at  the  surface, 
seventeen  feet  at  three  feet,  and  fifteen  feet  nine  inches  at  six 
feet.  Another  measured  twenty-two  feet  eight  inches  at  the  sur- 
face, seventeen  feet  six  inches  at  three  feet,  fifteen  feet  six  inches 


II.     3.  THE  CHESTNUT.  169 

at  six  feet.  The  trunk  was  undivided  for  twenty-four  feet, 
where  it  put  forth  several  large  but  short  branches.  A  third  was 
a  perfectly  vigorous  tree,  rising  to  eighty  or  ninety  feet,  with 
many  large  branches,  at  all  heights  above  fifteen  feet.  It  was 
eighteen  feet  nine  inches  at  the  surface,  fifteen  feet  three  inches 
at  three  feet,  and  thirteen  feet  two  inches  at  six.  A  fourth, 
which  measured  nineteen  feet  eight  inches  at  the  surface,  fifteen 
feet  nine  inches  at  three  feet,  and  fourteen  feet  three  inches  at 
six,  at  nine  or  ten  feet,  threw  out  some  large  crooked  branches, 
and  then  towered  to  eighty  or  ninety  feet,  with  a  magnificent, 
full,  branchy  head.  In  the  near  vicinity,  on  land  of  widow 
Rhoda  Houghton,  are  many  noble  trees,  three  of  which  deserve 
to  be  recorded.  One,  a  vigorous,  well-branched  tree,  seventy 
or  eighty  feet  high,  measured,  at  the  surface,  at  three  and  at  six 
feet,  twenty-two  feet  three  inches,  seventeen  feet  one  inch,  and 
fourteen  feet  ten  and  one-half  inches.  A  second,  beginning  to 
decay,  measured,  at  the  same  points,  twenty  feet  five  inches, 
sixteen  feet  two  inches,  and  fourteen  feet,  ten  inches.  A  third, 
which  at  six  feet  divided  into  two  main  trunks,  seventy  or 
eighty  feet  high,  measured,  in  like  manner,  twenty-two  feet  six 
inches,  seventeen  feet  one  inch,  and  sixteen  feet  seven  inches  in 
circumference. 

In  the  stump  of  a  tree  recently  growing  on  the  same  land, 
which  measured  four  and  one-half  feet  or  fifty-four  inches  in 
diameter,  one  hundred  and  twenty  circles  were  counted,  indi- 
cating an  annual  growth  of  nine-twentieths  of  an  inch.  At  the 
same  rate,  the  largest  of  these  trees  may  be  a  hundred  and 
seventy  or  a  hundred  and  eighty  years  old.  Two  trees  in  Hop- 
kinton,  on  land  of  Mr.  Valentine,  measured,  in  1826,  one  twenty- 
five  and  one-half  feet,  the  other  twenty-three  feet  at  the  ground. 

South-east  of  Monument  Mountain,  near  the  road  leading  to 
Sheffield,  in  a  pasture,  an  old  chestnut  measured,  in  September, 
1S44,  at  the  ground,  thirty  feet  two  inches  in  circumference;  at 
two  feet,  twenty-four  feet  seven  inches,  at  four,  twenty-one  feet. 
At  sixteen  feet,  it  throws  out  several  large  branches,  which  form 
a  top  of  sixty  feet  across.  Some  of  the  branches  are  decaying 
and  ruinous. 

Such  fine  old  trees  as  these,  wherever  found,  ought  to  be 
23 


170       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

spared.  Nothing  but  the  oak  produces  so  superb  an  effect. 
An  old  chestnut  throws  out  arms  almost  as  strong  as  the  oak, 
and  its  foliage  forms  as  beautiful  a  mass  and  a  thicker  shade. 

The  chestnut  flourishes  on  rocky  hills,  where  there  is  no  great 
depth  of  soil,  on  a  surface  difficult  of  tillage,  and  fit  only  for 
pasture  or  forest.  Of  the  many  acres  of  this  description  in  va- 
rious parts  of  the  State,  especially  in  the  middle  counties,  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  a  portion  will  be  spared  to  this  valuable  and 
rapidly  growing  tree.  A  circumstance  which  gives  additional 
value  to  this  tree  is,  that  the  wood  admits  of  a  high  polish,  and 
beautiful  furniture  may  be  made  of  it. 

The  mode  of  cultivating  the  chestnut  is  similar  to  that  for  the 
oak.  It  is  successfully  raised  from  the  nuts,  which,  whether 
they  are  to  be  sent  to  a  distance,  or  to  be  reserved  for  eating, 
should  be  gathered  in  the  sunshine  and  exposed  several  days  to 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  The  chestnut  may  also  be  grafted 
in  any  of  the  modes  in  use  for  other  trees. 

The  dwarf  chestnut,  a  native  of  the  Southern  States,  bears 
the  rigor  of  our  winters  and  forms  a  shrub  six  or  eight  feet  high. 
It  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  common  chestnut,  with  leaves 
and  fruit  much  smaller. 

II.     4.     THE  HAZEL.     CORYLUS.     L. 

The  hazels  are  shrubs,  or,  in  the  single  instance  of  the  Con- 
stantinople hazel,  C.  Colurna,  low  trees,  with  alternate,  entire 
leaves, — common  in  the  cooler  zones  of  both  hemispheres.  The 
male  flowers,  which  come  out  very  early,  are  in  slender,  cylin- 
drical, pendulous  aments;  the  female,  in  bud-like  clusters, 
bristling  with  the  long,  thread-like,  colored  stigmas.  There  is 
one  species,  with  many  varieties,  cultivated  in  Europe,  one 
small  tree,  belonging  to  Turkey,  and  two  species  native  to  this 
country,  the  common,  and  the  beaked  hazel.  The  husk  of  the 
common  hazel  resembles  a  cap,  whence  its  English  name  from 
the  Saxon,  hcesle,  a  cap,  and  also  its  botanical,  from  the  Greek, 
corys,  a  helmet. 

The  hazels  are  readily  propagated  by  sowing  the  nuts,  by 
suckers,  and  by  layers. 


II.     A.  THE  HAZEL,  171 


The  American  Hazel.      C.  Americana.     Wangenheim. 

The  hazel  is  a  small,  branched  shrub,  from  three  to  six  feet 
high.  The  younger  branches  are  gray  and  hairy,  with  green,  or 
red,  gland-bearing  hairs,  and  afterwards  become  brown,  lighter 
below,  with  orange,  or  green  dots;  the  stem  is  dark  colored. 
The  leaves  are  broad  ovate,  or  elliptic,  heart-shaped  at  base, 
acuminate,  coarsely  and  irregularly  somewhat  doubly  serrate., 
hairy  and  rough,  at  last  nearly  smooth  above,  pale  and  hairy, 
with  fine  hairs,  on  the  veins,  veinlets,  and  axils  beneath.  The 
leaf-stalk  is  short,  round,  and  covered  with  glandular  hairs, 
which  are  scattered  on  the  mid-rib,  and  sometimes  on  the  larger 
veins  beneath.  Stipules  broad  at  base,  tapering  to  a  point, 
sometimes  toothed  and  cut,  nearly  as  long  as  the  footstalk. 

The  aments  of  the  next  }rear  appear  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves 
in  August.  In  March  or  April,  those  on  which  the  sterile 
flowers  are  arranged,  are  found  expanded  into  slender,  cylin- 
drical, tremulous  catkins,  two  or  three  inches  long,  terminal,  or 
dependent  from  lateral  footstalks,  single,  or  two  to  five  together. 
They  consist  of  deltoid,  wedge-shaped,  concave,  pointed,  hairy 
scales,  pretty  closely  and  imbricately  arranged  around  a  central 
thread,  and  each  containing  about  eight  anthers,  attached  by  a 
short,  minute  thread,  to  a  delicate,  hairy  membrane,  with  which 
it  is  lined,  and  which  terminates  in  two  scales,  just  below  the 
edge  of  the  outer  one.  These  aments  are  of  a  grayish  yellow, 
or  fawn-color,  and  hang  gracefully  on  their  stalks,  moving  with 
every  wind,  and  spreading  in  the  air  their  yellow  pollen. 

The  fertile  flowers  are  little  star-like  tufts  of  crimson  stig- 
mas, projecting  above  a  short,  scaly  bud  of  numerous  scales ; 
the  outer  scales  are  broader,  and  edged  with  hair,  the  inner 
ones  hairy,  lanceolate,  and  fleshy.  In  the  axil  of  the  central 
scales  are  the  stigmas,  which  are  long  and  thread-like,  and 
divided  to  their  base.  The  inner  scales  increase  in  size  with 
the  nut,  and  become  the  husk,  two  or  three  scales,  very  much 
enlarged,  enclosing  it  entirely,  and  forming  a  cap. 

The  nut  is  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  breadth,  and 
somewhat  less  in  length,  roundish,  slightly  compressed,  with  a 


172        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

bony  shell  of  a  light  brown  color,  roughish  at  base,  where  it 
adheres,  while  immature,  to  its  cap.  This  is  an  involucre  pf 
two  broad  leaves,  much  larger  than  the  nut,  green  and  fleshy 
when  young,  inflated  at  base,  covered  with  coarse,  glandular 
hair,  deeply  and  irregularly  cut,  fringed  on  the  compressed  bor- 
der, and  turning  grayish  brown,  when  mature. 

The  hazel  grows  readily  in  dry,  or  moist,  light  soil,  by  the 
sides  of  woods  or  walls.  The  fruit  varies  much  in  quality  in 
different  places.  In  taste,  it  is  fully  equal  to  the  filbert,  and  by 
many  persons  it  is  preferred.  The  finest  specimens  of  it  are 
equal  to  the  filbert  in  size;  if  these  were  selected,  and  carefully 
cultivated,  they  would,  as  all  other  fruits  have  been  found  to 
do,  with  similar  treatment,  improve  in  quality.  In  England, 
the  filbert  is  much  cultivated,  and  is  sometimes  a  very  produc- 
tive crop.  Miller  says  that  its  qualities  can  only  be  preserved 
by  propagating  by  suckers,  or  layers.  The  same  methods  might 
be  used  for  our  hazel.  By  selecting  the  largest,  finest,  arid  ear- 
liest nuts,  sowing  them  in  the  most  propitious  soil,  and  selecting 
from  those  plants  which  soonest  come  to  bearing,  the  most  pro- 
mising nuts,  for  seed,  and  thus  constantly  repeating  the  opera- 
tion, the  size,  productiveness,  and  flavor  of  the  fruit  would, 
doubtless,  be  greatly  improved.  The  improved  varieties  might 
be  easily  propagated  by  suckers,  of  which  it  is  the  nature  of 
the  hazel  to  throw  out  great  numbers. 

There  are  many  road  sides  and  borders  of  fields  which  might 
be  planted  with  the  hazel,  from  whence,  with  little  expense,  a 
desirable  addition  to  the  table  might  be  raised,  which  children 
could  be  employed  to  gather.  Hazel-gathering  is,  even  now,  in 
some  parts  of  New  England,  a  pleasant  little  festival  for  child- 
ren; and  the  remembrances  of  the  nooks  among  the  woods, 
and  the  thickets  along  the  river  banks,  to  which  the  search  for 
nuts  leads,  are  not  unwelcome,  in  graver  and  busier  years. 

The  common  hazel  is  found  from  Canada  to  Florida,  and 
through  the  Western  States. 

The  plant  is  too  small  to  be  of  much  service,  though  it  may 
possibly  have  as  much  virtue  as  the  European  species  of  which 
Evelyn  writes  :  "  The  coals  are  used  by  painters  to  draw  with, 
like  those  of  sallow :  lastly,  for  riding  switches,  and  divinatory 


II.     4.  THE  BEAKED  HAZEL.  173 

rods  for  the  detecting  and  finding  out  of  minerals ;  at  least,  if 
that  tradition  be  no  imposture." 

The  Beaked  Hazel.     C.  Rosirata.     Aiton. 
This  is  a  somewhat  smaller  shrub  than  the  common  hazel, 


being  from  two  to  six  feet  in  height,  and  it  is  of  much  less  fre- 
quent occurrence.  Yet  there  are  few  country  towns  in  which 
the  boys  are  not  acquainted  with  the  taste  of  its  nuts.  The 
recent  shoots  are  brown  and  smooth,  sprinkled  with  a  few 
gray  dots.  The  older  branches  are  rough  and  darker,  and  the 
stem  a  grayish  brown.  The  leaves  are  on  very  short,  nearly 
smooth  footstalks,  pear-shaped,  narrowed  towards  the  base, 
and  heart-shaped,  ending  in  a  point,  doubly  and  irregularly 
serrate,  smooth  above,  somewhat  downy  or  hairy  beneath.  The 
nut  is  small  and  roundish,  enclosed  in  a  bristly  husk  which  fits 
its  shape  at  the  base,  but  is  lengthened  into  a  jagged  beak  at 
the  extremity,  like  a  narrow,  long-necked  bottle.  By  this  it  is 
easily  distinguished  from  the  common  hazel,  as  well  as  by  the 
inferiority  in  the  size  and  quality  of  the  nuts.  These  grow  on 
the  ends  of  the  branches,  in  bunches  of  two  to  eight  or  nine ; 
most  of  which  never  come  to  perfection. 

This  is  a  northern  species.  Dr.  Richardson  found  it  in  Can- 
ada, as  far  north  as  the  Saskatchewan.  On  the  highest  moun- 
tains of  the  Alleghany  range,  it  occurs  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  country. 

Messrs.  Prince,  of  Long  Island,  found  that  the  European  hazel 
grows  perfectly  well  in  our  climate ;  a  single  bush  annually 
producing  half  a  bushel  of  filberts. 

The  Constantinople  hazel  is  a  tree  of  sometimes  fifty  or  sixty 
feet  in  height. 


174       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


FAMILY  III.     THE  HORNBEAM  FAMILY.     CARPINACEJE. 

This  family  is  nearly  allied  to  the  oak  family,  from  which  it 
is  distinguished  by  having  its  female  flowers  arranged  in  a  loose 
terminal  anient,  which  becomes  an  open,  pendulous,  compound 
fruit  resembling  a  hop.  The  male  flowers  are  on  long,  cylin- 
drical, tassel-like  aments,  formed  of  simple,  imbricate  scales, 
with  twelve  or  more  stamens  attached  to  the  base  of  the  scales. 

It  contains  small  trees,  found  in  the  temperate  zone  of  both 
hemispheres,  remarkable  for  the  solidity,  strength  and  tough- 
ness of  their  wood;  with  annual,  alternate,  simple,  entire  leaves. 
The  buds  are  covered  with  imbricate  scales,  investing  and  sep- 
arating the  plaited  leaves. 

It  comprehends  two  genera  of  trees  found  here  :  The  Horn- 
beam, with  its  naked  nut  concealed  in  the  axil  of  a  leaf-like 
bract ;  and 

The  Hop-Hornbeam,  whose  nut  is  covered  by  a  hairy,  in- 
flated, membranous  sack. 


III.     1.     THE  HORNBEAM.     CARPINUS.     L. 

Small  trees,  with  a  smooth,  fluted  or  irregular  trunk,  and  al- 
ternate, entire  leaves.  The  female  flowers  are  in  loose  aments, 
made  of  small,  scale-like,  changed  leaves,  in  pairs.  These, 
enlarged,  contain  the  fruit,  which  is  a  small,  ribbed,  bony  nut 
in  the  angle  of  a  changed,  halbert-shaped,  or  three-lobed  leaf. 
There  are  about  six  species,  one  of  which  only  is  found  in  New 
England. 

The  American  Hornbeam.     C.  Americana.     Michaux. 

Figured  in  Michaux ;  Sylva,  Plate  108. 

The  hornbeam  is  a  small  tree,  easily  distinguished  by  its 
trunk,  which  is  marked  with  longitudinal,  irregular  ridges, 
resembling  those  on  the  horns  of  animals  of  the  deer  kind. 
From  its  great  resemblance  to  the  European  species,  it  received 
at  once  from  the  earliest  settlers  this  good  old  English  descrip- 


III.     1.  THE  HORNBEAM.  175 

tive  name.*  The  bark  is  smooth,  like  that  of  a  beech,  and  of 
a  dark  bluish  gray  or  slate  color,  whence  it  is  sometimes  called 
the  blue  beech. 

The  trunk  is  a  short  irregular  pillar,  not  unlike  the  massive, 
reeded  columns  of  Egyptian  architecture,  with  projecting  ridges 
which  run  down  from  each  side  of  the  lower  branches.  The 
branches  are  irregular,  waving  or  crooked,  going  out  at  various 
but  large  angles,  and  usually  from  a  low  point  on  the  trunk. 
The  recent  shoots  are  very  slender  and  tapering,  somewhat 
hairy,  and  brownish  or  purple.  The  older  branchlets  are  of  a 
dark  ashen  gray  with  a  pearly  lustre. 

The  leaves  are  very  much  like  those  of  the  black  birch.  They 
are  on  short  footstalks,  elliptical  or  oblong,  two  to  three  inches 
long  and  one  to  one  and  one-half  broad,  rounded  at  the  base, 
sharply  and  unequally  serrate,  smooth  and  slightly  impressed 
at  the  veins  above,  paler  and  softly  hairy  along  the  veins  and 
with  a  prominent  tuft  of  hair  at  the  axil  of  the  veins  beneath. 
The  footstalk  is  a  little  hairy ;  the  buds  oval.  The  autumn 
colors  of  the  leaves  are  different  shades  of  scarlet  and  crimson. 

The  male  catkins  come  out  before  the  leaves,  on  the  sides  of 
the  branches.  They  are  an  inch  or  usually  less  than  an  inch 
long,  and  look  as  if  they  had  been  stunted  in  their  growth.  They 
are  set  with  broad-ovate,  pointed  scales,  within  which  are  twelve 
or  more  anthers  resting  by  their  base  on  short  filaments.  The 
female  catkins  come  out  of  the  same  bud  with  the  leaves,  at  the 
ends  of  the  smaller  branches,  so  that  the  fruit  is  in  clusters  ter- 
minating a  short,  leafy  branchlet.  When  mature,  the  compound 
fruit-heads  are  on  very  slender  footstalks  of  from  one  to  two- 
thirds  their  length,  and  consist  of  a  series  of  alternate  pairs 
of  transformed,  sagittate  leaves,  growing  together  at  base,  and 
forming  each  a  cup  enclosing  an  egg-shaped,  eight-sided  nut,  in 
a  thin,  dark  brown,  ribbed  husk,  crowned  with  the  stigma.     The 

*  Gerard  thought  otherwise  in  regard  to  the  derivation  of  this  name.  He  says, 
of  the  corresponding  English  species,  "The  wood  or  timber  is  better  for  arrowes 
and  shafts,  pulleyes  for  mils,  and  such  like  devices,  than  elme  or  wich-hazell ;  for, 
in  time,  it  waxeth  so  hard,  that  the  toughness  and  hardness  of  it  may  be  rather 
compared  to  horn  than  unto  wood;  and  therefore  it  was  called  hornebeam  or  hard- 
beam. —  Herball,  p.  1479. 


176        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

nut  is  flattened  on  one  side,  of  a  woody  texture,  and  contains  a 
small  kernel  which  tastes  somewhat  like  a  chestnut. 

When  growing  by  itself,  in  open  ground,  the  hornbeam  is  a 
low  tree,  with  a  broad,  round,  crowded,  leafy  head,  the  lower 
branches  bending  nearly  to  the  ground  on  every  side.  Its  gen- 
eral aspect  and  figure  are  like  those  of  the  beech,  and  it  is 
more  uniform  in  its  appearance  than  any  other  tree. 

It  is  found  in  every  part  of  the  State  and  in  almost  every 
variety  of  soil  except  the  most  barren;  but  flourishes  only  in 
rich  moist  land.  It  is  never  a  large  tree.  I  measured  one  by 
the  side  of  the  Agawam  River,  near  Chester  Village,  which  was 
three  feet  nine  inches  in  circumference  above  the  bulging  of  the 
roots,  and  about  thirty  feet  high;  one  in  Brookline  measured 
two  feet  six  inches  at  two  feet  from  the  ground ;  and  I  have 
often  seen  it  of  similar  dimensions.  It  is  usually  five  or  six 
inches  in  diameter  and  about  twenty  feet  high.  From  the  situ- 
ations in  which  it  is  commonly  found  growing,  on  the  steep  sides 
of  river  banks,  and  cold,  clayey  hills,  it  is  rarely  erect,  but 
generally  inclined  obliquely  upwards,  with  very  large,  spread- 
ing branches. 

It  is  of  slow  growth,  and  is  supposed  to  live  to  a  great  age. 
The  wood  is  white,  close-grained  and  compact,  and  has  great 
strength.  It  is  used  for  beetles,  levers,  and  for  other  purposes, 
where  strength  and  solidity  are  required;  and  it  is  well  fitted 
for  the  use  of  the  turner.  The  corresponding  species  in  Europe 
is  much  esteemed  as  fuel,  and  in  France  its  charcoal  is  preferred 
to  most  others.  The  hornbeam  is  a  tree  of  considerable  beauty. 
Its  smooth,  fluted  trunk  is  an  interesting  object  to  one  curious 
in  forest  history ;  its  foliage  is  remarkable  for  its  softness,  and 
the  fruit  is  unlike  that  of  every  other  tree.  The  crimson,  scar- 
let and  orange  of  its  autumnal  colors,  mingling  into  a  rich  pur- 
plish red  as  seen  at  a  distance,  make  it  rank  in  splendor  almost 
with  the  tupelo  and  the  scarlet  oak.  It  is  easily  cultivated  and 
should  have  a  corner  in  every  collection  of  trees. 

According  to  Michaux,  this  tree  is  found  in  Nova  Scotia,  and 
Pursh  found  it  in  Florida.  It  is  common  in  all  the  New  Eng- 
land States,  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  in  Carolina 
and  Georgia. 


III.     2.  THE  HOP  HORNBEAM.  177 


II F.     2.     THE  HOP  HORNBEAM.     OSTRYA.     L. 

To  this  genus  belong  low  trees  or  shrubs  of  the  temperate 
zones  in  both  hemispheres.  The  sterile  flowers  are  in  cylindri- 
cal, pendent  aments  ;  the  fertile,  in  short,  slender  aments,  which, 
when  mature,  have  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  hop,  and  are 
made  up  of  inflated  sacks  containing  a  brown  nut.  There  are 
few  species,  of  which  one  is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe, 
and  one  only,  of  this  country. 

The  American  Hop  Hornbeam.      O.  Virginica.     Willdenow. 

Figured  in  Michaux  ;  Sylva,  Plate  109 ;  in  Abbott's  Insects,  II,  Plate  76 ;  and 
poorly  in  Audubon's  Birds,  Plate  40. 

The  hop  hornbeam  is  a  handsome,  small,  slender  tree,  easily 
distinguished  when  in  fruit  by  the  resemblance  of  its  spike  of 
seed-vessels  to  a  hop.  The  leaves  are  similar  to  those  of  the 
black  birch  and  of  the  hornbeam,  from  the  former  of  which 
they  may  be  distinguished  by  the  absence  of  the  chequer-berry 
taste,  and  from  the  latter,  by  being  more  elliptical.  The  twigs 
are  distinguished  from  both  by  their  extreme  toughness.  The 
bark  on  the  trunk  is  dark  grayish,  and  is  remarkable  for  being 
divided  into  very  fine  portions,  three  or  four  inches  long,  easily 
scaling  off,  narrower  than  the  divisions  on  any  other  rongh- 
barked  tree,  and  continuing  to  become  finer  and  narrower  as 
the  tree  grows  older. 

The  branches  are  rather  small,  long  and  slender,  and  make 
a  large  angle  with  the  stem,  forming  an  open  head.  The  bark 
on  the  younger  ones  is  smooth,  and  of  a  reddish  copper  or 
bronze  or  dark  purplish  brown  color,  like  the  cherry  tree,  dotted 
with  white  or  gray.  These  dots  lengthen  horizontally,  as  on 
the  bark  of  the  birch,  and  the  smoothness  and  deep  color  con- 
tinue till  the  branch  or  stem  is  two  or  three  inches  thick,  when 
the  bark  begins  to  crack  and  become  grayish. 

The  recent  shoots  are  very  slender,  of  a  reddish  green  dotted 
with  brown  ;  the  older  shoots  are  small  and  tapering,  giving, 
with  the  leaves  expanding  in  the  same  plane,  great  softness  of 
appearance  to  one  of  the  toughest  trunks  of  the  woods. 
24 


178       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  leaves  are  three  or  four  inches  long,  and  two  wide, 
oblong  ovate  or  elliptical,  heart-shaped  at  base,  beautifully  ta- 
pering to  a  long  point,  unequally  and  sharply  serrate,  smooth 
above,  paler  and  somewhat  hairy,  particularly  at  the  axils  and 
along  the  veins,  beneath,  thin,  of  a  delicate  texture,  and  sitting 
on  very  short,  often  hairy  footstalks.  In  autumn,  the  leaves 
assume  various  shades  of  orange  brown,  or  yellowish  brown, 
and  russet. 

The  barren  flowers,  which  expand  in  May,  at  the  same  time 
with  the  leaves,  or  just  before,  are  in  cylindrical,  pendulous  cat- 
kins, one  or  two  inches  long,  of  a  tawny,  brown,  or  purple 
color,  at  the  ends  of  the  twigs  of  the  last  year.  The  scales  of 
which  they  are  formed  are  very  short,  broad  ovate,  acuminate, 
thickly  ciliate,  and  hairy  at  the  base  within.  The  stamens  are 
twelve  or  more,  one-celled,  bearded  at  tip,  resting,  near  their 
base,  on  short,  irregularly  branched,  hair-like  filaments. 

The  fertile  flowers  come  from  the  same  bud  with  the  leaves, 
so  that  they  are  at  last  at  the  end  of  a  leafy  branch.  This  bud 
is  enclosed  by  several  scales,  and  each  leaf,  plaited  and  folded 
together  within,  has  at  its  base  a  pair  of  thin,  pointed,  striate, 
stipular  scales,  which  soon  fall.  The  leaves  and  the  minute 
branches  are  invested  with  bristle-like  hairs.  Above  the  leaves 
are  the  slender  catkins,  half  an  inch  long,  made  up  of  very 
hairy,  long,  pointed  scales,  which  soon  fall  off.  Within  them 
are  the  smaller  but  more  permanent  scales  which  protect  the 
future  fruit.  Several  of  the  lower  ones  contain  nothing.  The 
upper  ones  protect  each  two  sacks,  conical  at  base,  and  ending 
in  cylindrical,  hairy  tubes,  from  which  project  the  two  hair-like, 
purple  or  red  stigmas,  surmounting  the  enclosed  ovary.  At  the 
period  of  the  bursting  of  the  anthers,  the  female  catkin  is  three 
or  four  tenths  of  an  inch  in  length.  This  rapidly  enlarges,  and, 
at  maturity,  is  an  inch,  or  sometimes  two  or  three  inches  long, 
and  of  half  that  width.  This  compound  fruit  is  a  collection  of 
follicles,  resembling  a  hop,  erect,  finally  pendulous,  on  a  club- 
shaped,  hairy  stalk  of  the  same  length,  terminating  the  branch- 
lets,  and  a  conspicuous  ornament  in  July  and  after.  The  seed- 
vessels,  to  the  number  of  twelve  to  twenty,  are  aggregated  in 
pairs.     Each  is  an  ovate,   flattened,  membranaceous,  veined, 


III.     2.  THE  HOP  HORNBEAM.  179 

inflated,  sessile  sack,  half  an  inch  long,  terminating  in  a  point, 
and  set  at  base  with  numerous,  needle-like,  stinging  hairs,  and 
containing  at  the  base  a  dark  brown  nut  of  nearly  the  same 
shape,  three  or  four  lines  long,  free,  except  at  base,  where  it 
adheres  to  the  sack. 

The  wood  of  the  hop  hornbeam  is  close-grained  and  com- 
pact, and  remarkably  tough  and  stiff;  on  account  of  which 
properties,  it  is  often  used  to  make  levers  and  is  called  lever- 
wood.  It  is  also  called  iron-wood,  from  its  extreme  hardness, 
and  is  well  adapted  to  make  cogs  in  mill-wheels.  It  is  suitable 
for  stakes  of  carts,  for  binding-poles  and  for  all  similar  uses. 

This  tree  seldom  grows  to  a  large  size.  I  measured  one  in 
Roxbury,  near  the  rail-road,  where  it  occurs  abundantly,  which 
was  three  feet  two  inches  in  girth  at  the  ground,  two  feet  six 
inches  at  four  feet,  two  feet  eight  inches  at  five  and  one-half 
feet.  On  the  road  leading  from  Pittsfield  to  Williamstown,  in 
Lanesborough  or  beyond,  in  a  field  on  the  right,  I  measured,  in 
September,  1838,  one  which  had  a  circumference  of  five  feet 
and  eleven  inches  at  the  ground,  and  another  of  four  feet  nine 
inches. 

In  Bristol  County,  this  tree  is  sometimes  called  black  hazel, 
and  Indian  cedar. 

Dr.  Richardson  found  the  hop  hornbeam  in  Canada,  as  far 
north  as  Lake  Winipeg.  Michaux  found  it  in  New  Brunswick 
and  Nova  Scotia.  It  occurs  in  all  the  New  England  States ;  in 
New  York  ;  in  Pennsylvania ;  and  in  Carolina  and  Georgia. 


180       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


FAMILY  IV.     THE  WALNUT  FAMILY.     JUGLANDACEJE. 

De  Candolle. 

The  plants  belonging  to  this  family  are  lofty  timber  trees, 
found  native  in  the  northern  temperate  regions  of  both  conti- 
nents. They  are  distinguished  for  their  compound,  pinnate 
leaves,  exhaling  an  aromatic  odor  when  crushed;  the  barren 
flowers  borne  on  simple  or  compound  pendulous  catkins ;  the 
fertile,  in  a  small  terminal  group,  or  solitary.  There  are  few 
genera ; — one  common  to  Europe  and  this  country,  one  peculiar 
to  this  country,  and  a  few  others  more  recently  and  less  per- 
fectly known. 

The  kernels  of  several  of  the  species  are  sweet  and  whole- 
some, abounding  in  oil.  The  rind  of  the  English  walnut  is 
extremely  astringent,  the  rind  and  the  bark  of  the  butternut 
possess  cathartic  properties,  and  the  husk  and  bark  of  both 
species  of  American  walnut  and  of  several  of  the  hickories,  may 
be  used  in  dyeing.  The  wood  of  all  is  highly  valuable  as 
timber. 

Insects  on  the  Walnuts  and  Hickories. — The  caterpillar  of 
the  beautiful  Luna  moth,  (Attacus  Luna;  Harris's  Report,  p. 
277),  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  the  hickories  and  walnuts.  So  does 
a  species  of  the  Limacodes  or  slug-caterpillars,  (ib.  p.  303). 
Swarms  of  caterpillars  of  one  or  perhaps  several  species  of 
Pygcera  are  found  on  the  same  trees,  (ib.  p.  313).  The  smaller 
limbs  of  the  pignut  hickory  are  found,  during  July,  covered  on 
their  lower  surface  by  clusters  of  the  Aphis  caryce,  (ib.  p.  190), 
which  suck  their  sap;  and  the  bark  and  wood  of  this  tree  are 
bored,  sometimes  very  extensively,  by  the  larvae  of  a  Buprestian 
beetle,  (ib.  p.  40).  Grubs  of  the  Apate  basillaris  sometimes 
destroy  the  shellbark  by  boring  to  its  heart,  where  they  undergo 
their  transformation,  (ib.  p.  70).  The  caterpillar  of  the  walnut 
sphinx,  (Sme?*i?ithus  ji/gla?idis),  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  the  black 
walnut  and  the  butternut,  (ib.  p.  230),  and  the  most,  magnificent 
of  the  American  moths,  called  by  Dr.  Harris  the  regal  walnut 


IV.     1.  THE  WALNUT  181 

moth,  Ceratocampa  regalis,  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  the  black 
walnut,  (Report,  p.  287). 

The  two  American  genera  of  the  Walnut  Family,  are  the 
Walnut  and  the  Hickory. 

1.  The  Walnut  has  its  flowers  in  simple,  undivided  aments, 
its  fruit  covered  by  an  undivided  husk,  and  its  leaves  made  up 
of  very  many  leaflets, — from  eleven  to  twenty-three. 

2.  The  Hickory  has  its  sterile  flowers  in  compound  aments, 
the  husk  of  its  fruit  opening  naturally  by  four  seams,  and  its 
leaves  of  fewer  leaflets, — from  five  to  nine. 


'j 


1.     THE  WALNUT.     JUGLANS.     L. 

Spreading,  round-headed  timber  trees,  natives  of  North  Amer- 
ica and  Persia,  with  rough  bark,  and  deciduous,  aromatic,  com- 
pound leaves,  made  up  of  many  leaflets,  as  many,  usually,  as 
from  five  to  eleven  pairs  with  an  odd  one.  The  sterile  flowers 
are  in  large,  undivided  catkins,  from  buds  distinct  from  the 
leaf  buds,  each  flower  containing  from  eight  to  thirty-six  sta- 
mens: the  fertile  are  solitary  or  in  small  groups  at  the  end  of 
the  branches.  The  fruit  is  large,  and  covered  with  a  spongy, 
odorous,  undivided  husk. 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  mahogany  into  Europe,  the 
wood  of  the  European  walnut  was  much  employed  in  the  con- 
struction of  furniture.  Its  chief  use  now  is  for  gun-stocks.  The 
kernels  of  the  walnuts  abound  in  oil,  which  is  prone  to  become 
rancid,  either  in  the  kernel  or  when  expressed,  and  is  then 
unwholesome.  Properly  dried,  the  nuts  are  sweet,  wholesome 
and  nutritious.  The  expressed  oil  is  not  congealed  by  cold, 
and,  drying  on  exposure  to  air,  it  is  useful  in  painting.  It 
is  also  used  in  cookery,  as  a  substitute  for  the  olive  and  almond 
oils.  The  nut-bread,  left  after  the  expressure  of  the  oil,  is  nu- 
tritious, and  is  used  to  fatten  poultry  and  other  domestic  ani- 
mals. The  bark  of  the  several  species  is  bitter  and  astringent, 
and  has  been  recommended  in  fevers,  and  to  give  tone  and 
strength  to  the  stomach.  The  sap  abounds  in  sugar,  which 
crystalizes  on  evaporation,  like  that  of  the  sugar-cane.     Fer- 


182       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

merited,  the  sap  affords  an  intoxicating  liquor  called  walnut 
wine.* 

There  are  two  species  found  native  in  New  England : 

1.  The  Butternut,  known  by  its  long,  ovate  fruit,  covered 
with  clammy  hairs,  and 

2.  The  Black  Walnut,  whose  fruit  is  nearly  round,  not  hairy, 
but  slightly  rough  with  granular  points. 

Sp.  1.    The  Butternut  or  Oil  Nut  Tree.     Juglans  cinerea.  L. 

Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  Plate  32  ;  in  Michaux ;  Sylva,  Plate  31  ; 
and  in  Audubon's  Birds  of  America,  Plate  142. 

A  low,  broad-headed  tree  rising  to  the  height  of  thirty  or  forty 
feet,  and  spreading  to  a  considerable  distance  on  every  side. 
Even  in  the  forest  it  shows  little  disposition  to  soar  to  a  great 
height.  The  recent  shoots  are  of  a  light  greenish  gray,  downy, 
soon  becoming  of  a  clear  light  gray,  obscurely  dotted.  The 
branchlets  of  last  year  are  stout,  smooth,  of  an  ashen  brown, 
with  gray  dots,  the  scar  of  the  leaf  conspicuous  and  large. 
The  branches  are  horizontal  or  slightly  inclining  upwards,  very 
long,  irregular,  with  a  gray  bark,  soon  cracking  and  growing 
rough  with  grayish  superficial  rifts,  the  lenticular  dots  long  and 
lighter-colored;  on  the  very  large  branches  the  prominent  ru- 
gosities often  cross  each  other  diagonally,  cutting  the  surface 
into  lozenges,  or  the  clefts  separate,  widening  into  diamonds; 
while  the  trunk,  covered  with  a  dark  granite  gray  bark,  is 
rough,  with  clefts  not  running  into  each  other.  The  leaves  are 
compound,  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  long,  with  from  three  to 
seven,  rarely  eight,  pairs  of  sessile  leaflets,  and  an  odd  one 
which  is  supported  on  a  prolonged  footstalk.  The  common 
footstalk  is  stout  at  base,  tapering,  rounded  or  angular,  or  often 
flattened  horizontally  below  the  leaves  and  vertically  between 
them,  very  downy,  as  is  the  lower  surface  of  the  leaves.  The 
leaflets  are  from  two  to  four  inches  long,  and  somewhat  less  than 
half  as  wide,  lance-ovate,  rounded  at  base,  gradually  tapering  to 

*  Burnett's  Outlines  ;  II,  p.  528. 


IV.     1.         THE  BUTTERNUT  OR  OIL  NUT.  1S3 

a  prolonged  point,  serrate,  rather  thick  and  rongh,  and  lighter 
colored  beneath.     The  bnds  are  destitute  of  external  scales. 

The  sterile  flowers  issue  from  the  sides  of  last  year's  shoots,  in 
large  green  catkins  four  to  seven  inches  long,  and  four  or  five 
eighths  of  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter.  They  are  on  oblong, 
shield-like,  green  scales,  disposed  pretty  closely  on  all  sides  of  the 
catkins.  Each  scale  terminates  in  a  brown,  hairy  tuft,  above 
which  are  three  lanceolate,  pointed  lobes,  with  two  lateral  lobes 
midway  of  the  scale.  The  stamens  are  about  eight  to  twelve, 
sessile,  brown  on  the  upper  surface,  which,  by  the  pendence  of 
the  catkins,  becomes  the  lower. 

Fertile  flowers,  two,  six  or  seven  on  a  terminal  downy  stalk. 
Each  is  surrounded  by  an  involucre  of  several  broad  scales, 
forming  at  base  the  oblong  cup,  and  within  them  are  five  or  six 
narrow,  pointed  sepals,  immediately  investing  the  long  style, 
which  terminates  in  a  large  purple  or  rose-red  stigma,  deeply 
cleft,  two  to  three  eighths  of  an  inch  long.  The  cup,  which 
enlarges  to  become  the  fruit,  is  invested  with  numerous  reddish 
or  white  glands,  which  exude  a  penetrating,  viscid  substance. 

The  leaf-stalks  and  recent  shoots  are  set  with  similar  glands 
in  less  number. 

The  flowers  appear  in  May,  and  the  fruit  ripens  in  October. 

The  fruit  grows  single  or  two  to  five  together  on  the  sides  and 
end  of  a  stout,  pliable  footstalk,  which  is  one  to  three  inches 
long.  They  are  green,  turning  to  brown,  oblong-ovoid,  or  in- 
versely pear-shaped,  invested  with  glandular  hairs,  which  se- 
crete a  clammy,  resinous  and  penetrating  odorous  substance,  and 
crowned  by  the  stigma  and  ends  of  the  calyx  scales.  Within 
a  thin,  leathery  husk,  they  contain  a  nut  about  two  inches  long, 
and  of  half  that  thickness,  covered  with  stony,  opposite,  keel- 
like projections,  and  sculptured  with  deep  furrows  and  sharp 
irregular  ridges.  It  is  rounded  at  base,  and  acute  at  the  end, 
and  about  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  kernel  of  this  nut  is  of  one 
piece,  but  can  with  difficulty  be  extracted  whole.  It  is  of  an 
oily  nature,  and  soon  becomes  rancid ;  but  when  carefully  dried 
is  sweet  and  very  pleasant. 

The  butternut  tree  abounds  on  the  Hoosic  Mountains,  among 
the  Green  Mountains,  on  the  sides  of  the  Wachusett,  and  par- 


184        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ticularly  in  the  Connecticut  valley,  where  it  attains  a  very  large 
size.     It  is  of  very  rapid  growth  when  young. 

From  the  bark  of  this  tree  an  extract  is  made,  which  is 
sometimes  employed  as  a  medicine,  and  is  valued  as  a  safe 
purgative,  peculiarly  mild  in  its  operation.  The  bark  and  the 
nut- shel Is  are  also  used  to  give  a  brown  color  to  wool.  The 
Shakers  at  Lebanon  dye  a  rich  purple  with  it.  Bancroft  says 
that  the  husks  of  the  shells  of  the  butternut  and  black  walnut, 
may  be  employed  in  dyeing  a  fawn  color,  even  without  mordants. 
By  means  of  them,  however,  greater  brightness  and  durability 
are  given  to  the  color.  The  bark  of  the  trunk  gives  a  black, 
that  of  the  root  a  fawn  color,  but  less  powerfully.  From  the 
sap  an  inferior  sugar  has  been  obtained.  The  leaves,  which 
abound  in  acrid  matter,  have  been  used,  in  the  form  of  powder, 
as  a  substitute  for  Spanish  flies. 

The  young,  half-grown  nuts,  gathered  early  in  June,  make 
excellent  pickles,  and  are  much  used  for  that  purpose,  the  clam- 
my down  being  removed,  before  pickling,  by  plunging  them 
in  boiling  water  and  rubbing  with  a  coarse  cloth. 

The  wood  is  light,  of  a  pale  reddish  color,  of  little  strength, 
but  durable  when  exposed  to  heat  and  moisture,  rather  tough, 
and  not  liable  to  the  attacks  of  worms.  For  gun-stocks,  it  is 
equally  stiff,  elastic,  and  tough  with  black  walnut,  but  less  hard. 

It  makes  beautiful  fronts  of  drawers,  as  used  by  the  Shakers 
at  Lebanon,  and  excellent  light,  tough,  and  durable  wooden 
bowls.  In  the  western  part  of  the  State,  coffins  are  often  made 
of  it.  Where  abundant,  it  is  used  for  posts  and  rails,  and  for  the 
smaller  timbers  in  house  frames.  It  is  sometimes  used  for  the 
panels  of  coaches  and  other  carriages,  being  pliable,  not  splitting 
when  nails  are  driven  into  it,  and,  from  its  porosity,  receiving 
paint  extremely  well. 

Michaux  says  that  the  butternut  is  found  in  Upper  and  Lower 
Canada,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  in  the  States  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri.  It  occurs  in 
all  the  New  England  States,  and  in  New  York  and  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

In  Richmond,  I  measured  a  butternut  tree  which  was  thirteen 
feet  and  three  inches  in  circumference  in  the  smallest  place  below 


IV.     1.  THE  BLACK  WALNUT.  185 

the  branches.  I  have  found  trees  of  nearly  similar  dimensions 
in  many  parts  of  the  State,  and  much  larger  ones  on  the  Con- 
necticut River. 

Sp.  2.     The  Black  Walnut.     J.  nigra.     L. 

Figured  in  Catesby,  Plate  67  ;    in  Michaux,  Sylva,  I,  Plate  30 ;    and  in  Audu- 
bon's Birds  of  America,  II,  Plate  156. 

A  fine  tree  with  spreading  branches  and  a  broad  round  head. 
The  bark  is  rough  and  furrowed,  and  darker  than  that  of  the 
butternut  tree. 

The  leaves  have  from  six  to  ten  pairs  of  leaflets  and  an  odd 
one.  They  differ  from  those  of  the  butternut  by  being  smooth 
above,  while  those  of  the  butternut  are  rough  ;  in  having  the 
leaf-stalk  smooth,  the  leaves  more  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  more 
strongly  serrated,  less  sessile,  and  a  little  more  pointed,  with  the 
leaf-stalk  less  swollen,  and  the  buds  smaller.  The  fruit  is 
round,  and  on  a  short  footstalk  ;  that  of  the  butternut,  long,  ovate, 
and  on  a  long  footstalk. 

It  is  found  in  Massachusetts,  but  comes  to  its  greatest  perfec- 
tion, and  displays  its  fullest  proportions  in  the  States  on  the  Ohio. 
On  the  banks  and  islands  of  that  river,  Michaux  says  he  has 
often  seen  trees  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter,  and  sixty  or 
seventy  feet  in  height,  and  that  it  is  not  rare  to  find  them  of 
the  thickness  of  six  or  seven  feet.  "  When  it  stands  insulated, 
its  branches,  extending  themselves  horizontally  to  a  great  dis- 
tance, spread  into  a  spacious  head,  which  gives  it  a  very  majes- 
tic appearance."  As  it  is  found  growing  with  us,  it  is  remark- 
able rather  for  beauty  than  for  majesty ;  yet  if  the  flourishing 
young  trees  which  are  now  to  be  seen  are  allowed  to  increase 
for  a  century,  they  will  probably  merit  the  encomium  bestowed 
by  Michaux. 

The  sterile  flowers  are  loosely  set  on  green,  simple  catkins, 
from  four  to  seven  inches  long,  dependent  from  the  axil  of  the 
last  year's  leaves.  Stamens  very  numerous,  twenty  to  thirty  or 
more,  green,  short,  sessile,  close  set  within  a  nearly  circular  pe- 
rianth of  six  rounded  lobes.  The  fertile  flowers  are  sessile  on 
a  terminal  common  footstalk,  an  inch  or  more  long.  Each  cup 
25 


186        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

is  surmounted  by  a  many-toothed  circle  or  involucre,  within 
which  are  four  slender,  lanceolate  lobes,  encircling  the  style 
with  its  long,  deeply  bifid,  purple  or  red  stigma.  Recent  shoots 
slightly  downy  or  powdery,  as  are  the  leaf-stalks. 

The  leaves  are  very  long,  with  from  fifteen  to  twenty-one 
leaflets  ;  the  leaf-stalk  downy  ;  leaflets  on  a  short  petiole,  nearly 
smooth,  downy  on  the  mid-rib  above  and  beneath,  ovate-lanceo- 
late, with  a  long  acumination,  inequilateral  at  base,  lower  ones 
cordate,  middle  ones  rounded,  upper  ones  acute  below  and  serrate. 

Recent  branchlets  very  downy;  fruit-stalk  somewhat  downy. 
Fruit  globose,  nearly  smooth,  or  somewhat  granulate,  and  of  a 
greenish  yellow  when  mature,  but  soon  turning  to  a  dark  brown. 
Within  the  spongy  husk  is  a  rough,  deeply  farrowed  nut,  round, 
but  slightly  flattened,  with  a  woody  or  bony  covering.  The 
kernel,  which  nearly  resembles  that  of  an  English  walnut  in 
shape,  is  more  oily,  but,  when  carefully  dried,  of  a  rich  and 
very  agreeable  taste. 

The  wood  of  the  black  walnut  is  of  a  dark  violet  or  purple 
color,  becoming  deeper  and  almost  black  with  age.  It  is  valu- 
able for  its  fineness  of  grain,  tenacity,  hardness,  strength  and 
durability.  These  qualities,  together  with  its  beauty  and  tough- 
ness, render  it  preferable  to  any  other  material  for  the  stocks 
of  muskets.  The  wood  is  beautifully  shaded,  and  admits  of  a 
fine  polish,  and  it  is  now  very  extensively  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  tables,  chairs,  bureaus,  bedsteads,  and  other  cabinet 
work,  and  sometimes  for  book-shelves  and  the  cornices  and 
panels  of  rooms.  Where  abundant,  it  serves  the  same  useful 
ends  that  hickory  does  with  us.  Posts  made  of  it  last  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It  is  brought  into  the  State  in 
considerable  quantities  for  the  purposes  above  mentioned.  More 
nearly  than  any  other  American  tree,  it  resembles  the  Euro- 
pean walnut,  which,  before  the  introduction  of  mahogany,  was 
considered  the  most  beautiful  material  known  for  the  best  kinds 
of  furniture. 

Its  erect  stem  and  the  breadth  of  shade  from  its  abundant, 
soft  and  luxurious  foliage,  recommend  it  as  an  ornamental 
shade  tree.  It  is  perfectly  adapted  to  our  climate.  It  is  found 
growing  naturally   in  small  numbers,  or  solitary,   in    several 


IV.     2.  THE  HICKORY.  187 

parts  of  this  State,  and  it  has  been  successfully  cultivated  in 
many  others.  Its  growth  from  the  seed  is  certain  and  rapid. 
Its  rich,  oily  fruit,  when  carefully  dried,  is  nearly  equal  to  that 
of  the  shagbark  hickory.  From  the  kernel  a  valuable  and 
abundant  oil  may  be  expressed,  superior  to  most  others  for  use 
in  cookery  and  for  lamps.  Bread  has  also  been  made  from  the 
kernels.  The  spongy  husk  of  the  nuts  is  used  as  a  dye-stuff". 
It  thus  unites  almost  all  the  qualities  desirable  in  a  tree; — 
beauty,  gracefulness,  and  richness  of  foliage,  in  every  period  of 
its  growth ;  bark  and  husks  which  may  be  employed  in  an 
important  art ;  fruit  valuable  as  food ;  wood  unsurpassed  in 
durability  for  use,  or  in  elegance  for  ornament. 

IV.     2.     THE  HICKORY.     CARTA.     Nuttall. 

The  hickories  are  valuable  timber  trees,  with  large  compound 
leaves,  having  from  five  to  fifteen,  but  usually  not  more  than 
eleven  leaflets.  The  sterile  flowers  are  in  compound  catkins,  each 
principal  catkin  having  two  opposite  branches;  the  stamens  from 
four  to  eight  in  each  flower.  The  fertile  flowers  are  solitary,  or 
in  small  groups,  at  the  end  of  the  branches.  The  fruit  is  a  large 
roundish  nut,  the  husk  of  which  opens  partially  or  wholly,  of 
itself,  by  four  seams. 

The  hickory  is  peculiar  to  America.  The  nearest  approach 
to  it  on  the  Eastern  Continent,  is  in  the  European  walnut.  In 
many  respects,  it  is  amongst  the  most  valuable  of  our  trees.  It 
is  always  a  stately  and  elegant  tree;  and  the  several  species, 
and  individuals  in  the  same  species,  exhibit  so  great  a  variety 
of  appearance  and  foliage,  that  they  have  almost  the  interest  of 
a  forest.  Few  trees  contribute  so  much  to  the  beauty  of  the 
woods  in  autumn.  The  colors  of  all  at  that  season  are  rich,  and 
each  species  has  its  own.  The  smoothness,  closeness,  and  hard- 
ness of  the  grain  of  the  wood,  give  it  great  value  in  the  arts,  and 
for  fuel  it  holds  unquestionably  the  first  place.  The  fruit  of  some 
of  the  species,  even  in  the  unimproved  condition  of  its  forest 
state,  vies  with  the  best  of  foreign  nuts,  and  is  destined,  doubt- 
less, to  be  greatly  improved  by  the  resources  of  cultivation. 


188  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

With  such  claims,  it  has  a  right  to  demand  more  attention  than 
it  has  yet  received. 

From  the  great  resemblance  which  several  of  the  species  have 
to  each  other,   in  shape,  and  in  the  size,    form,  and  number 
of  the   leaflets,  they  are  liable  to  be  confounded,   and  distinct 
species  are  confounded  almost  universally.     Except  when  in 
fruit,  it  is  very  difficult  to  distinguish  them,  and  even  then  it  is 
necessary  for  the  inexperienced  observer  to  have  recourse  to  the 
taste,  so  great  and  numerous  are  the  diversities  in   their  size, 
shape,  and  external  appearance.     The  hickories  are  stately  trees. 
All  of  them  have,  more  than  any  other  native  deciduous  tree,  a 
tendency,  even  when  growing  by  themselves,  on  the  open  plain, 
to  rise  to  a  great  height,  and  form  a  tall  cylindrical  head,  not 
wide,  but  holding  a  breadth  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  with  only 
such  breaks  and  irregularities  as  preserve  it  from  sameness,  to 
the  very  top.     This  is  a  great  beauty,   and  serves  to  give  a 
marked  character  to  the  tree  when  seen  at  a  distance,  left,  as  it 
often  is  by  our  farmers,    an  ornament  and  shade  to  the  pas- 
ture, or  standing  by  itself  on  the  edge  of  a  wood,  or  along  en- 
closures.    This  great  beauty  of  the  tree  would  recommend  it 
for  transplantation  to  the  sides  of  commons  and  public  roads,  if 
it  were  not  for  the  great  difficulty  with  which  it  is  removed, 
after  it  has  attained  any  considerable  height.     The  principal 
root,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  case  of  the  bitternut  hickory,  is  a 
very  long  and  perpendicular  taproot,  with  few  fibres  or  side  roots. 
It  is  therefore  liable  to  be  so  much  injured  in  transplanting,  from 
the  loss  of  the  extremity,  that  few  trees  survive  the  operation. 
To  be  successfully  propagated,  it  must  therefore  be  raised  from 
the  seed,  sown  where  the  tree  is  finally  to  remain.     In  our  bleak 
and  windy  climate,  few  trees  will  grow  without  shelter  in  their 
earlier  years.     The  hickories  should  be  raised  in  large  masses, 
of  several   acres  at  least.     And  the  nuts,  previously  made  to 
germinate  in  boxes,  filled  with  earth,  and  kept  moist  in  the  cel- 
lar,*  should  be  sown  so  plentifully,  as  to  allow  for  casualties, 
such  as  the  depredations  of  squirrels  and  other  small  animals, 

*  Michaux,  N.  A.  Sylva,   I,  p.  205.     He  adds,   "The  success  of  this  simple 
method  is  certain." 


IV.     2.  THE  HICKORY.  189 

and  still  remain  growing  pretty  thickly.     Their  growth  at  first 
is  slow,  but  it  is  more  rapid  in  proportion  to  the  completeness 
of  their  protection  on  every  side.     When  the  young  plants  have 
attained  the  height  of  from  five  to  eight  feet,  they  may  be  thin- 
ned out  for  the  purpose  of  making  walking-sticks,  for  which 
the  consumption   is    very  considerable,  and  the  demand   con- 
stantly increasing.     When  at  the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet,  and  from  two  to  four  inches  in  diameter,  they  may  be  still 
further  thinned  for  hoops.     The  value  of  the  young  and  growing 
trees  for  fuel,  will  be  a  sufficient  inducement  to  continue  the 
operation  of  thinning  to  as  great  a  degree  as  is  necessary  for  the 
best  growth  of  the  larger  trees,  which  may  be  left  standing  for 
timber,  for  ornament,  or  for  the  fruit.     Hickories  managed  in  this 
way,  drawn  up  at  first  by  being  surrounded  by  other  trees,  and 
afterwards  gradually  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  sun  and  air, 
will  have  their  peculiar  beauties  developed  in  the  fullest  manner. 
It  is  merely  an  imitation,  by  art,  of  the  mode  by  which  some 
of  the  best  trees  of  this  kind  now  standing,  have  been  formed. 
The   uses  to  which  hickory  wood  is  put,  are  very  numerous. 
Great  numbers  of  walking-sticks  are  made  of  it,  as  for  this 
purpose  no  other  native  wood  equals  it  in  beauty  and  strength. 
It  is  next  in  value  to  white  oak,  for  making  hoops,  of  which 
great  quantities  are  made  in  the  State,  and  many  more  imported. 
The  price  these  bring  is  such,  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  land 
of  a  suitable  quality  can  in  any  other  way  be  made  so  produc- 
tive, as  in  raising  them.     Hickory  makes  the  best  screws,   the 
smoothest  and  most  durable  handles  for  chisels,  augers,  gimlets, 
axes,  and  many  other  common  tools.     Seasoned  wood  of  some 
varieties  of  the  pignut  and  mockernut  trees,  is  equal  in  durability 
to  iron  wood  or  lignumvitse,  for  mallets  and  heads  of  beetles, 
being  tougher  and  more  durable  than  white  oak.     The  sailor 
prefers  a  hickory  handspike.     Its  smoothness  and  tenacity  rec- 
ommend  it  for  the  screws  of  presses,  the  rings  which  confine 
the  sails  of  small  vessels  to  the  mast,  and  for  the  cogs  of  grist- 
mills.    The  carriage  maker  employs  it  for  the  springs  of  gigs, 
the  whiffle-trees  of  stage  coaches,  and  the  shafts  of  light  wagons. 
The  farmer   makes  of  it  the  teeth  of  his  rakes,  bows  for  his 
yokes,  and  handles  for  his  axes ;  uses  it,  when  white  or  yellow 


190        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

oak  cannot  be  readily  found,  for  axle-trees,  saws  it  into  planks 
for  barn-floors,  and  applies  it  to  many  other  purposes.  For  tide 
mills,  it  is  preferable  to  oak  timber,  as  it  is  not  attacked  by 
worms  when  in  salt  water. 

Its  defects  are  that  it  shrinks  much  and  irregularly,  and  there- 
fore warps,  that  it  is  liable  to  the  attacks  of  worms,  and  decays 
rapidly  when  exposed  to  moisture.  As  is  the  case  with  most 
other  woods,  that  is  most  valuable  which  has  grown  most  rapid- 
ly, and  which,  in  consequence,  has  least  of  the  red  heart- wood. 
That  of  the  pignut  is  heaviest,  next  in  succession  the  shellbark 
and  mockernut,  in  the  proportion,  when  green,  of  31,  29,  and  25. 

As  fuel,  hickory  is  preferred  to  every  other  wood,  burn- 
ing freely,  even  when  green,  making  a  pleasant,  brilliant  fire, 
and  throwing  out  great  heat.  Charcoal  made  from  it  is 
heavier  than  that  from  any  other  wood,  but  it  is  not  considered 
more  valuable  than  that  of  birch  or  alder.  The  ashes  of  the 
hickories  abound  in  alkali,  and  are  considered  better  for  the 
purpose  of  making  soap  than  any  other  of  the  native  woods, 
being  next  to  those  of  the  apple  tree. 

The  shellbark  hickory  ought  to  be  cultivated  for  its  nuts. 
These  differ  exceedingly  in  different  soils  and  situations,  and  of- 
ten on  individual  trees  growing  in  immediate  proximity.  There 
is  a  common  idea,  which  seems  to  be  well  founded,  that  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  nut  is  proportioned  to  the  roughness  of  the  bark. 
An  observation  of  the  elder  Michaux  encourages  us  to  hope  that 
the  fruit  may  be  greatly  improved  by  cultivation.  He  says  that 
the  fruit  of  the  common  European  walnut,  in  its  natural  state, 
is  harder  than  that  of  the  pacanenut,  and  inferior  to  it  in  size 
and  quality.* 

The  species  of  hickory  common  in  Massachusetts,  are  four : 

1.  The  Shellbark,  with  five  large  leaflets,  a  large  nut,  of 
which  the  husk  is  deeply  grooved  at  the  seams,  and  with  a 
rough,   scaly  trunk ; 

2.  The  Mockernut,  with  seven  or  nine  leaflets,  a  hard,  thick- 
shelled  nut,  and  leaflets  and  twigs  very  downy  when  young,  and 
strongly  odorous  ; 

*  N.  A.  Sylva,  I,  p.   137. 


IV.     2.  THE  HICKORY.  191 

3.  The  Pignut,  with  three,  five,  or  seven  narrow  leaflets, 
small,  thin-shelled  fruit,   and  a  pretty  hard  nut ;  and 

4.  The  Bitternut,  with  seven,  nine,  or  eleven  small,  narrow, 
serrated  leaves,  small  fruit,  with  long  prominent  seams,  bitter 
and  thin-shelled  nut,  and  very  yellow  buds. 

Sp.  1.     Shellbark  Hickory.     Carya  alba.     A.  Michaux. 

Leaf,  fruit,  and  female  ament  figured  in  Michaux,   Sylva,  I,  Plate  36,  and  in 

Plate  12  of  this  volume. 

This  tree  is  almost  every  where  in  Massachusetts  known  by 
the  descriptive  name  of  the  shagbark,  or  shellbark,  a  name 
likely  to  be  retained.  It  is  the  only  one  of  the  hickories  which 
is  not  constantly  confounded  with  some  other.  It  may  be  read- 
ily distinguished  by  the  shaggy  bark  of  its  trunk,  the  excellence 
of  its  globular  fruit,  its  leaves,  which  are  large  and  have  live 
leaflets,  and  by  its  ovate,  half-covered  buds. 

The  shellbark  hickory  is  found  in  the  county  of  York,  in 
Maine,  twenty-five  mites  east  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  This  is 
the  most  northerly  point  at  which  I  have  observed  it,  and  there 
it  is  rare,  and  a  small  tree,  but  matures  fruit  of  a  fine  quality. 
It  occurs  thence  southward  through  the  Middle  and  Southern 
States,  as  far  as  Carolina,  and  is  found  in  the  Western  States. 

It  flourishes  in  nearly  every  part  of  Massachusetts,  except 
the  southeastern  counties.  In  the  maritime  districts,  and  in 
sandy  soils,  it  is  rarely  found.  It  is  most  abundant  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Boston,  and  in  Middlesex,  Essex,  and  Worcester 
counties. 

It  grows  best  in  a  rich,  moist  soil,  and  produces  its  fruit  most 
abundantly  when  growing  by  itself  on  the  border  of  cultivated 
land,  or  on  the  edge  of  a  forest.  In  such  situations,  a  single  tree 
sometimes  bears  several  bushels  of  nuts. 

The  shellbark  is  a  tall  and  stately  tree,  rising  sometimes  to 
the  height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet,  with  a  diameter  seldom  ex- 
ceeding two  feet.  The  branches  are  irregular  and  scattered, 
often  numerous,  but  not  large,  and  where  the  tree  is  left  stand- 
ing, after  the  other  trees  of  the  forest  in  which  it  had  attained 
its  height,  have  been  felled,  it  has  a  long  and  shapely,  cylindri- 


192       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

cal  head,  of  great  beauty.  Where  it  has  grown  almost  by  it- 
self, from  an  early  age,  it  often  becomes  a  spreading  tree,  with 
a  fine  broad,  but  somewhat  open  head.  In  the  forest,  its  rugged 
trunk  may  be  seen  stretching  up,  with  scarcely  perceptible  dim- 
inution, and  without  a  limb,  to  a  height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet. 
It  is  covered  with  a  bark  of  remarkable  and  characteristic  ap- 
pearance. It  is  of  a  dark  granite  or  ashen  gray,  and  by  a  few 
distant,  deep  furrows,  the  external  portion  is  separated  into  long 
plates,  which  cleave  nearly  off  in  large  loose  flakes,  attached 
only  by  the  centre,  or  one  end.  This  singular  exfoliation  of  the 
bark  does  not  occur  in  very  young  trees,  and  we  sometimes  find 
them  bearing  fruit  with  a  bark  almost  as  smooth  as  the  mocker- 
nut  or  the  pignut  hickory. 

The  branches,  if  compared  with  those  of  most  other  trees, 
are  small,  but  are  larger  than  those  of  the  other  hickories.  The 
recent  shoots  are  stout,  at  first  grayish  or  greenish  brown,  after- 
wards purple,  smooth,  and  dotted  with  numerous  long,  light- 
brown  dots,  obliterated  in  the  older  shoots,  which  become 
of  a  very  dark  gray.  The  leaves  are  large,  and  of  five  leaf- 
lets, of  which  the  side  ones  are  inequilateral,  and  nearly  sessile, 
while  the  terminal  leaflet  is  on  a  short  footstalk.  The  lower 
pair  are  small,  narrow,  ovate  lance-shaped ;  the  upper  pair  and 
the  terminal  one  very  large  and  broad,  and  inversely  egg-shaped. 
All  end  in  a  long  point,  and  are  coarsely  serrate,  smooth  and 
dark  green  above,  of  a  yellowish  green  and  downy  beneath,  on 
a  round,  yellowish  green  footstalk.  In  October,  they  become  of 
an  orange  brown  or  orange  russet,  and  finally  a  deep  russet. 
The  buds  are  middle  sized,  ovate,  yellowish  brown,  half  cov- 
ered by  the  two  external  scales.  Early  in  the  spring,  these 
scales  fall  off,  and  the  buds  enlarge  to  a  very  considerable  size. 
In  May  or  June,  they  open  by  the  folding  back  of  the  large, 
conspicuous  scales,  which  are  numerous,  from  two  to  five  inches 
long,  and  often  one  or  two  broad,  widening  towards  the  end, 
and  of  a  rich  purple  color,  invested  externally  with  yellowish 
silken  down.  They  are  tough,  of  a  soft  leathery  texture,  and 
beautifully  fringed. 

From  the  midst  of  these  gorgeous,  flower-like  scales,  appear 
the  leaves,  expanding  late,  but  hastening  to  atone  for  the  delay 


IV.     2.  THE  HICKORY.  193 

by  luxuriant  and  rapid  growth,  and  reaching,  before  the  end  of 
June,  on  the  vigorous  shoots  of  young  trees,  their  full  length  of 
eighteen  or  twenty  inches. 

The  male  flowers  are  in  slender,  pendulous,  green  tassels  or 
catkins,  three  on  each  common  stalk,  which  comes  out  at  or  near 
the  base  of  the  new  shoots,  the  middle  one  from  three  to  five 
inches  long,  the  opposite  lateral  ones  half  as  long,  or  more,  with 
a  small,  slender  scale  at  the  base  of  each.  The  shining,  imbri- 
cate scales  of  the  catkins  contain  each  three  or  four  stamens. 
The  inconspicuous  fertile  flowers  are  in  groups  of  from  two  to 
four  together,  on  the  ends  of  the  shoots,  containing  each  two 
stigmas,  surrounded  by  the  four  parts  of  the  calyx,  which,  by 
their  surprising  development,  form  the  husk  of  the  future  nut. 

The  fruit  of  the  shellbark  is  nearly  globular,  varying  much 
in  size,  but  usually  from  five  to  seven  inches  in  circumference. 
The  husk  is,  in  its  immature  state,  green  and  nearly  smooth, 
but  afterwards  turns  brown,  and  sometimes  almost  black.  It  is 
of  a  spongy  substance,  very  thick,  and  marked  with  four  de- 
pressed furrows,  by  which  it  separates  into  as  many  distinct 
pieces,  one  of  which  is  larger  than  the  rest.  The  nuts,  which 
differ  in  size  and  shape,  still  more  than  the  unhusked  fruit,  are 
about  an  inch  long,  and  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  in  cir- 
cumference, white  or  yellowish  white,  oblong,  and  compressed, 
marked  with  four  distinct  angles,  corresponding  to  the  seams 
in  the  husk,  prolonged  at  the  extremity,  and  crowned  with 
the  hardened  remains  of  the  stigma.  They  vary  very  much  in 
hardness  and  thickness ;  the  best  varieties  being  thinner  and 
softer,  and  having  commonly  a  rounder  and  fuller  shape  than 
the  poorer  sorts.  The  kernel  is  very  sweet,  much  superior  in 
quality  to  that  of  any  other  native  nut,  and.  in  the  best  varie- 
ties, it  is  equal  to  any  imported  nut.  It  ripens  in  October.  Every 
fruit,  which  is  much  used  for  food,  except  this,  has  been  im- 
proved by  the  careful  cultivation  of  many  centuries.  The 
shellbark  hickory  is  a  proper  subject  for  experiments,  to  be 
made  with  special  reference  to  the  improvement  of  the  nut. 
Those  varieties  should  be  selected,  which  unite,  in  the  greatest 
degree,  thinness  of  shell,  with  fullness  and  richness  of  kernel. 
If  as  great  a  change  can  be  wrought  as  has  been  effected  in  the 
26 


194       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

common  European  walnut,  which,  in  its  wild  state,  is  small  and 
thick-shelled,  the  fruit  of  the  shagbark  will  be  far  superior  to 
any  nut  now  known. 

The  market  of  Boston  and  the  other  towns  of  this  State,  are 
supplied  with  these  nuts  from  the  vicinity,  or  the  interior  of 
the  State,  not  abundantly  enough,  however,  to  prevent  a  consid- 
erable importation  from  New  York  and  other  southern  ports. 

The  wood  of  the  shellbark  hickory  splits  more  easily  than 
that  of  the  other  species,  and  has  more  elasticity.  It  is  there- 
fore preferred  for  whip-stalks,  goads,  and  ox-bows;  and  some- 
times it  is  used  for  making  baskets.  It  has  less  strength  and 
tenacity  than  the  wood  of  the  pignut  hickory,  though  it  pos- 
sesses in  a  high  degree  these  characteristic  properties. 

As  fuel,  it  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  trees  belonging  to 
our  climate,  or  probably  to  any  other.  Foreigners  who  have  set- 
tled among  us,  regard  it  as  clearly  superior  to  any  wood  known 
in  Europe.  It  is  the  heaviest  of  our  native  woods,  and  yields, 
pound  for  pound,  or  cord  for  cord,  more  heat  than  any  other,  in 
any  shape  in  which  it  may  be  consumed. 

This  tree  does  not  often  grow  to  large  dimensions.  One  be- 
tween the  branches  of  the  Nashua  river,  in  Lancaster,  and  near 
their  confluence,  measured  eleven  feet  five  inches  at  the  ground, 
eight  feet  six  inches  at  three  feet,  and  seven  feet  six  inches  at 
six  feet. 

Sp.    2.      The    Mockernut    Hickory.     The    Walnut.      Carya 

tomentosa.     A.  Michaux. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  I,  Plate  35  ;  and  in  Plate  13  of  this  volume. 

This  species  is  often  called  the  walnut,  and  is  also  known  by 
the  name  of  the  square-nut  hickory.  It  is  also  called  white 
heart,  though,  in  old  trees,  the  heart  is  of  the  same  dark  red  as 
in  the  other  hickories.  It  is  liable  to  be  confounded  on  one  side 
with  the  shellbark,  and  on  the  other  with  the  pignut  hickories. 
The  name  mockernut  is  sometimes  heard  in  this  State,  and  is 
given  to  it  exclusively  in  New  York.  This,  like  the  preceding, 
is  a  stately,  tall,  and  finely  shaped  tree,  with  an  erect  trunk, 
throwing  out  a  few  moderately  large  branches,  at  a  sharp  angle, 


IV.     2.  THE  MOCKERNUT  HICKORY.  195 

and  forming  a  lofty  and  graceful  pyramidal  head.  It  may  be 
distinguished  from  the  other  hickories  by  the  number  of  its  leaf- 
lets, which  are  seven  or  nine,  by  the  down  on  its  leaves  and 
recent  shoots,  by  the  hardness  of  the  husk  and  the  thickness  of 
the  nut,  by  the  roundness  of  its  large  covered  buds,  and  by  a 
strong  resinous  odor  in  the  leaves,  buds  and  husks.  In  its 
general  aspect,  it  resembles  the  shellbark,  as  well  as  in  the  full- 
ness of  its  foliage  and  the  size  of  its  leaves.  Its  branches  are 
more  spreading,  and  its  trunk  is  more  like  that  of  the  pignut 
hickory,  but  less  smooth.  The  color  of  the  bark  is  dark  ashen 
gray,  and  on  old  trees  it  is  rough  with  numerous  close,  narrow 
furrows,  rendering  it  more  rugged  than  that  of  any  hickory, 
except  the  shellbark.  A  remarkable  peculiarity  often  shows 
itself  in  the  young  trees.  While  the  inner  bark  is  cracked,  the 
cuticle  seems  to  yield  and  to  cover  the  whole  surface  with  a 
smooth,  waved  covering;  the  external  furrows  not  beginning  to 
show  themselves  until  the  tree  has  a  diameter  of  six  or  eight 
inches. 

The  recent  shoots  are  of  a  brown  color,  very  stout,  and,  early 
in  the  season,  covered  with  down.  Later,  they  turn  purple, 
with  a  dusty  appearance.  On  the  older  branches,  which  are 
larger  than  in  the  other  species,  the  color  changes  to  gray  which 
gradually  becomes  lighter. 

The  leaves  are  very  large,  often  eighteen  or  twenty  inches 
long,  on  very  large  downy  footstalks.  The  leaflets  are  seven 
or  nine,  nearly  sessile,  except  the  terminal  one,  which  has  a 
short  stem ;  they  are  rather  large,  egg-shaped,  elliptical,  or  pear- 
shaped,  smooth  above  and  downy  beneath,  with  large,  sharp 
serratures,  and  terminating  in  a  short  point.  They  are  remark- 
able, particularly  in  the  early  part  of  the  season,  for  a  strong 
resinous  odor.  They  have  more  substance  than  those  of  the 
other  species,  and  shrivel  less  under  the  touch  of  the  frost.  In 
autumn,  they  assume  a  full  deep  orange  brown,  gradually  fading 
to  russet. 

The  buds  are  large,  round,  short,  and  covered  with  downy, 
yellowish  brown  scales. 

The  male  flowers  are  on  triple  catkins  from  three  to  six  inches 
long,   the   middle   one   longest.      They  consist  of  three-lobed, 


196       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

pointed  scales,  imbricately  arranged,  and  differ  from  those  of 
the  other  species  in  being  somewhat  more  hairy.  The  fertile 
flowers  are  very  small,  and  consist  of  a  calyx  with  four  seg- 
ments, from  which  issue  two  hairy,  irregular,  ragged  stigmas. 

The  fruit  of  the  rnockernut  varies  remarkably  in  size,  shape 
and  appearance,  but  is  commonly  from  four  to  six  inches  in  cir- 
cumference. It  is  sometimes  nearly  orbicular  and  smooth,  with 
slightly  depressed  furrows,  but  more  frequently  pear-shaped, 
with  prominent  seams  and  a  granulated  surface.  The  husk 
separates  nearly  to  the  base  into  four  unequal  lobes,  sometimes 
as  thick  as  those  of  the  shellbark,  and  sometimes  quite  thin? 
but  always  becoming  very  hard.  It  has,  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree, the  strong  resinous  scent  characteristic  of  the  species. 
The  nuts  are  whitish,  commonly  somewhat  pear-shaped,  and 
less  compressed  and  with  less  prominent  angles  than  those  of 
the  shellbark.  Rut  a  variety  is  found  with  prominent  angles, 
and  is  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  square  nut.  The  shell 
is  very  thick  and  hard,  and  difficult  to  crack.  The  kernel  is 
sweet,  and,  in  some  varieties,  as  large  as  in  the  shellbark,  but 
the  difficulty  of  extracting  it,  makes  it  far  less  valuable.  The 
fruit  ripens  in  October. 

The  wood  is  characterized  by  the  hardness,  tenacity  and 
weight  which  belong  to  all  the  trees  of  this  genus.  It  is  less 
easily  cleft  than  that  of  the  shellbark,  but  next  to  it  in  value  as 
fuel,  and  less  tenacious  than  that  of  the  pignut,  and  therefore 
less  valued  for  its  uses  in  the  arts.  But  the  differences  in  these 
respects  are  so  slight,  that  only  the  most  careful  observers  have 
noticed  them.  When  young,  it  is  supposed  to  be  whiter  than 
that  of  the  other  hickories,  and  thence  the  tree  receives  the 
common  name  of  white  heart  hickory.  The  Indians  made  of 
the  bark  of  one  of  the  hickories,  probably  this,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  a  vegetable  acid,  the  only  kind  of  acid  they  had,  a 
black  dye,  said  to  have  been  deep  and  permanent. 

Michaux,  who  had  made  experiments  upon  the  several  spe- 
cies, pronounces  the  rnockernut  to  be  the  slowest  in  its  growth 
of  all;  and  he  thinks  it  is  the  most  liable  to  the  attacks  of 
worms,  and  therefore  one  of  the  least  valuable  for  cultivation. 
He  says  it  grows  on  poorer  soils  than  the  other  species,  but 


IV.     2.  THE  PIGNUT  HICKORY.  197 

attains  a  considerable  size  only  when  growing  on  a  rich  soil. 
In  this  State,  it  flourishes  in  company  with  the  shellbark,  and 
prevails  in  the  eastern  parts,  particularly  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston,  and  more  on  the  southern  side  than  on  the  northern  or 
eastern. 

Sp.  3.   The  Pignut  Hickory.     Carya  porcina.    F.  A.  Michaux. 
Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  Plate  38  ;  and  on  Plate  14  of  this  volume. 

Although  the  pignut  hickory  occurs  more  frecmently  than 
any  other  species,  yet  the  name  is  often  made  to  include  the 
mockernut  and  the  bitternut. 

The  bark  of  the  pignut  hickory  is  broken  into  finer  and  more 
numerous  rugosities  than  either  of  the  preceding  species,  and 
begins  to  assume  its  roughness  at  an  earlier  age,  and  on  smaller 
trunks  and  branches.  Its  color  is  a  rather  light  bluish,  ashen 
gray,  and  it  is  often  clouded  with  large  patches  of  gray  and 
sulphur-colored,  or  bluish  lichens.  On  old  trunks,  the  bark  is 
comparatively  smooth,  but  sometimes  broken  into  larger  and 
less  regular  plates  than  the  mockernut,  and  the  plates  are  rough 
and  often  projecting,  somewhat  as  on  the  shellbark. 

The  recent  shoots  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  two  preceding 
species,  tapering,  smooth,  often  polished,  purple,  with  numerous 
long  dots,  and  gradually  turning  brownish  gray ;  the  larger 
branches  are  of  a  uniform  bluish  gray.  The  leaves  are  long, 
with  three,  five,  or  seven  leaflets,  on  a  long,  smooth  footstalk. 
The  leaflets  are  nearly  sessile,  narrower  than  in  the  former 
species,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  tapering  gradually  at  both 
extremities,  and  ending  in  a  long  point.  The  terminal  leaflet  is 
inversely  egg-shaped,  on  a  short  stalk.  When  crushed,  the 
leaves,  as  well  as  the  husk  of  the  nuts,  give  a  not  unpleasant 
odor,  entirely  different  from  the  characteristic  odor  of  the 
mockernut  hickory.  In  autumn,  as  early  as  October,  the  leaves 
change  their  color,  becoming  of  a  russet  orange,  or  often  a  rich 
orange  with  a  brown  tint  overspread. 

The  buds  are  egg-shaped  and  pointed,  or  rounded,  smaller 
than  in  the  last  species,  the  outer  scales  of  a  polished  brown. 

The  fruit  of  the  pignut  hickory  varies  still  more  in  shape 


198       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

than  that  of  the  other  hickories,  and  hardly  less  in  size.  It  is 
sessile  on  a  short  terminal  stalk,  and  most  commonly  pear- 
shaped  ;  at  least,  that  is  the  shape  which  I  have  found  most 
common  in  Massachusetts,  and  that  almost  universally  con- 
nected with  a  leaf  of  five  leaflets.  This  has  been  called  the 
jig-shaped,  (jiciformis),  from  its  resemblance  to  a  fresh  fig. 
Another  variety,  also  common,  has  the  fruit  nearly  round,  but 
often  irregularly  shaped ;  and  a  third,  less  common,  has  a  large 
broad  fruit.  These  differences  in  the  shape  of  the  fruit  are  con- 
nected with  corresponding  differences  in  the  leaves,  bark  and 
appearance  of  the  tree,  inducing  several  botanists  to  consider 
them  as  distinct  species.  Michaux  is  probably  right  in  making 
them  only  varieties.  The  husk  has  a  smooth  or  granular  sur- 
face, with  seams  depressed  above  and  often  prominent  below, 
and  sometimes  so  from  top  to  bottom,  extending  nearly  to  the 
base,  and  dividing  it  into  four  unequal  lobes.  It  is  very  thin, 
though  not  equally  so  in  all  the  varieties,  and  crustaceous,  but 
not  hard.  The  nut  has  a  hard  and  tough  shell,  sometimes  thin 
but  oftener  pretty  thick,  of  a  bluish  gray  color  and  smooth 
surface.  The  kernel  has  at  first  a  hazel-nut  taste,  which  turns 
presently  to  a  disagreeable  bitter.  Some  varieties  have  a  nut 
almost  equal  to  an  inferior  shellbark.  The  nuts  grow  single, 
or  two,  three,  or  four  together.  They  are  often  very  abundant, 
several  bushels  being  produced  on  a  single  tree,  and  they  are 
then  usually  found  growing  in  pairs. 

The  wood  of  the  pignut  hickory,  varying  greatly  in  the  dif- 
ferent varieties,  has,  in  some,  the  excellent  properties  of  this 
class  of  trees  in  greater  perfection  than  either  of  the  other  spe- 
cies. It  is  therefore  preferred  for  the  axle-trees  of  carts,  the 
heads  of  mallets  and  beetles,  and  the  handles  of  axes.  A  beetle 
made  of  it,  and  used  to  drive  stakes  and  iron  wedges,  outlasts, 
I  am  told,  any  that  can  be  made  of  any  other  wood,  foreign  or 
native.  As  fuel,  it  is  next  to  the  species  already  described,  and 
superior  to  all  other  woods. 

This  hickory  grows  to  a  great  size,  being  sometimes  three  or 
four  feet  in  diameter,  and  rises  to  the  height  of  seventy  or  eighty 
feet,  with  a  trunk  very  gradually  tapering,  and  pretty  large 
limbs. 


IV.     2.  THE  BITTERNUT  HICKORY.  199 


Sp.  4.     The  Bitternut  Hickory.      Carya  amara.     F.  A.  Mi- 

chaux. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  I,  Plate  33  ;  and  on  Plate  15  of  this  volume. 

This  species,  though  perfectly  distinct  and  well  defined,  is 
very  generally  confounded  with  the  last  described,  or,  if  at  all 
distinguished,  is  called  the  bitter  pignut. 

It  may  be  easily  recognized  by  the  smallness  and  slenderness 
of  its  leaves,  which  give  it  much  the  aspect  of  an  ash,  by  its 
small,  pointed,  yellow  buds,  by  the  winged  projections  at  the 
upper  part  of  the  fruit-seams  of  the  husk,  and  by  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  kernel  of  the  thin-shelled  nut. 

The  bitternut  hickory  is  found  abundantly  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston,  particularly  in  Chelsea  and  Brookline.  In  Cambridge, 
and  the  towns  beyond,  it  less  rarely  occurs,  its  place  being  taken 
by  the  pignut,  as  it  is  in  Dorchester  and  towards  Milton  hills. 
On  the  hills  in  Brighton,  the  four  species  are  more  equally  min- 
gled than  I  have  found  them  elsewhere.  It  also  occurs  in  Wor- 
cester County,  and  in  the  counties  along  the  Connecticut. 

The  bitternut  hickory  is  the  most  graceful  of  these  beautiful 
trees,  and  remarkable  for  its  finely  cut  foliage..  It  raises  a  no- 
ble columnar  top,  to  the  height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet,  enlarg- 
ing upwards,  and  broadest  at  forty  or  fifty-  The  trunk  gradu- 
ally tapers  from  the  ground;  less  rough  than  most  large  trees, 
with  a  few  loose  portions  of  its  light  granite  gray  bark  here 
and  there  projecting,  and  differing  from  the  color  of  the  other 
hickories  by  a  faint  yellow  tinge.  The  recent  shoots  are  of  an 
orange-green,  smooth,  and  dotted  with  orange  dots.  As  they 
grow  older,  they  change  to  a  brownish  gray.  The  buds  are 
small  and  very  characteristic ;  they  are  of  an  orange-yellow 
color,  the  terminal  ones  long,  curved,  flattened  and  pointed,  the 
axillary  ones  shorter  and  rounded.  By  observing  these,  the 
tree  may  be  easily  distinguished  at  any  season  of  the  year. 

The  leaves  are  on  small  stalks,  which  are  somewhat  downy, 
and  often  flattened  and  winged.  The  leaflets  are  from  seven  to 
eleven,  small,  narrow,  lanceolate,  sessile,  inequilateral,  smooth 
on  both  surfaces,    or  with  a  slight   scattered   down  beneath. 


200        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

They  are  of  a  lively  green,  and,  in  autumn,  assume  often  a  rich 
orange  color,  a  faint  tinge  of  which  they  retain  when  the  other 
species  have  grown  russet  and  brown.  Such  is  the  prevailing 
character  of  the  leaves  in  this  vicinity.  Elsewhere  they  are 
sometimes  very  large. 

The  male  flowers  are  in  ternate,  pendulous  catkins,  from 
three  to  six  inches  in  length,  very  slender,  and  somewhat 
downy,  and  bristling  less  with  the  prolonged  points  of  the  scales 
than  in  the  other  hickories.  The  inconspicuous  fertile  flowers 
are  on  the  ends  of  the  branchlets,  single,  or  two  or  more  togeth- 
er, remarkable,  when  closely  examined,  for  the  very  broad  stig- 
mas which  overlie  the  segments  of  the  scaly  and  resinous  calyx, 
the  future  envelope  of  the  fruit. 

The  fruit  of  the  bitternut  hickory  is  nearly  round,  or  slightly 
compressed  on  one  side,  and  is  distinguished  by  the  prominent 
winged  edges  of  the  seams,  only  two  of  which  extend  more  than 
half  way  down.  The  husk  is  smoothish,  or  slightly  granulated, 
thin  and  fleshy,  and  never  becomes  very  hard.  The  nut  is 
white  and  smooth,  broader  than  it  is  long,  and  somewhat  heart- 
shaped  at  the  top.  The  shell  is  so  thin,  that  it  may  be  broken 
by  the  fingers,  and  contains  a  kernel  remarkably  corrugated, 
and  so  bitter,  that  squirrels  refuse  to  feed  on  it  while  any  other 
nut  can  be  found,  and  even  boys  will  not  eat  it.  From  the  bark 
or  husks  of  some  one  of  the  hickories,  probably  this,  the  Indians 
are  said  to  have  procured  materials  for  coloring  a  permanent 
yellow. 

These  are  all  the  hickories  of  whose  occurrence  in  Massachu- 
setts I  am  confident.  The  varieties  of  the  pignut  may  here- 
after be  elevated  into  species;  and  the  species  called  by  Mi- 
chaux  the  nutmeg  hickory,  will  probably  be  found  here.  I 
have  seen  nuts  and  leaves,  which  reminded  me  of  the  descrip- 
tion and  figure  of  this  species,  but,  forgetting  their  locality,  I 
have  been  unable  to  verify  my  conjectures  by  observation. 


V.  THE  BIRCH  FAMILY.  201 


FAMILY  V.     THE  BIRCH   FAMILY.     BETTJLACEJE.     Richard. 

The  birch  family  consists  of  graceful  trees  and  shrubs,  na- 
tives of  the  colder  regions  of  each  hemisphere,  with  alternate, 
entire,  dentate  or  serrate,  deciduous  leaves.  The  sterile  and 
the  fertile  flowers  are  arranged  in  distinct  aments  on  the  same 
plant.  The  male  flowers  are  in  cylindrical,  pendent  tassels  or- 
aments,  made  up  of  three-flowered  scales,  on  the  sides  or  ends 
of  the  branchlets,  the  female  in  shorter,  thicker  aments,  usually 
erect,  of  two- or  three-flowered  scales,  with  long,  diverging,  col- 
ored stigmas.  Both  are  made  up  of  imbricate  scales.  The 
fruit,  called  a  strobile,  is  the  enlarged  female  anient,  usually 
more  or  less  egg-shaped,  sometimes  cylindrical.  The  aments 
are  formed  in  the  summer,  or  early  autumn,  and  remain  un- 
protected through  the  winter. 

The  bark  is  thin,  and  generally  arranged  in  thin  flakes,  and 
has  astringent  properties.  The  root  is  rather  large,  with  long, 
tapering  branches,  and  numerous  radicles.  The  wood  is  soft, 
close,  and  fine-grained,  rather  light,  and  not  durable  when  ex- 
posed to  alternations  of  dryness  and  moisture.  Several  of  the 
birches  are  valuable  as  timber  trees,  most  of  them  as  fuel,  and 
all  as  ornaments  in  the  landscape.  They  abound  in  the  north- 
ern parts  of  America,  and  are  sometimes  found  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Mexico  and  countries  farther  south. 

The  great  defect  of  birch  timber  is  its  proneness  to  decay. 
This  may  be  in  a  degree  prevented  by  felling  the  tree  in  sum- 
mer, or  in  early  autumn,  and  immediately  stripping  off  the 
bark.  So  long  as  the  bark  remains,  the  sap  and  other  moisture 
favorable  to  decay,  is  kept  in,  and  the  seasoning  prevented. 

The  birches  have  a  great  abundance  of  sap,  which  is  some- 
times obtained  in  large  quantities  by  tapping  the  vigorous  trees. 
It  is  sweetish,  with  an  agreeable  acid  taste,  and  forms  a  pleas- 
ant drink.  It  is  said  to  be  sometimes  used,  with  perry,  in  the 
manufacture  of  what  seems  to  be,  while  new,  tolerably  good 
Champagne  wine.  It  is  also  used  to  make  vinegar.  The  inner 
bark  of  some  species  is  used  to  give  a  bright  orange  dye. 
27 


202       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Trees  of  the  birch  family  are  nowhere  of  more  importance, 
variety  and  beauty,  than  in  this  country.  There  are  but  two 
genera:*  1.  The  Birch,  known  by  its  thin  and  delicate  leaves, 
and  bark  made  up  of  strong,  horizontal  fibres ;  and,  2.  The 
Alder,  known  by  its  thick  leaves,  polished,  dark-colored  bark, 
and  woody,  cone-like,  persistent  strobiles. 

V.     1.     THE  BIRCH.     BE  TULA.     Tournefort. 

• 

This  genus  has  its  sterile  aments,  made  up  of  imbricate  scales, 
arranged  in  threes,  with  twelve  stamens  placed  beneath  the 
middle  scale,  and  its  fertile  aments  of  three-lobed  scales.  The 
ovary  is  much  compressed,  crowned  with  two  styles,  and  divid- 
ed into  two  cells,  the  ovule  in  only  one  of  which  comes  to  ma- 
turity. The  seed-vessel  is  a  samara  with  thin,  winged,  mem- 
branous borders,  like  that  of  the  elm.  The  buds  are  sessile, 
covered  with  imbricate  scales,  and  contain  the  leaves  folded 
together,  and  overlying  each  other.  The  leaves  are  alternate 
on  the  growing  branches,  and  in  pairs  elsewhere ;  on  the  canoe, 
the  gray,  and  some  other  birches,  they  are  sprinkled  with  glu- 
tinous dots  when  young.  The  sterile  aments  make  their  appear- 
ance in  July,  remain  unprotected  on  the  branches  through  the 
autumn  and  winter,  and  expand,  before  the  leaves,  with  the  ear- 
liest warmth  of  spring.  The  scales  of  the  fertile  aments  detach 
themselves  easily,  and  fall  from  their  stems,  which  are  always 
undivided.  This  genus  contains  not  far  from  twenty  species, 
of  which  nine  or  ten  are  found  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States  or  its  territories.  The  rest  belong  to  the  north  of  Europe, 
except  one  found  in  Japan,  one  in  Terra  del  Fuego,  and  some 
which  grow  among  the  mountains  of  Central  Asia. 

No  trees   are  more  distinguished  for  their  light  and  feathery 

*  The  Clethropsis,  a  plant  of  the  interior  of  Asia,  discovered  by  V.  Jacque- 
mont,  and  described  from  his  specimens,  by  Cambessedes,  must  take  its  place,  ap- 
parently, between  the  birch  and  the  alder,  and  nearer  to  the  latter.  See  Voyage 
dans  Vlnde,  par  Victor  Jacquemont,  Tome  IV,  p.  158,  Plate  159. 

Whilst  this  sheet  is  passing  through  the  press,  I  learn,  from  the  eleventh  volume 
of  Spach,  Histoire  des  Vegetaux,  which  I  had  not  before  seen,  that  he  has  placed 
Clethropsis  in  this  family.  He  has  also  made  two  other  genera,  from  species  of 
Betula  and  Alnus. 


V.     1.  THE  BLACK  BIRCH.  203 

foliage,  and  the  graceful  sweep  of  their  limbs,  than  the  birches. 
From  the  delicate  and  slender  gray  birch,  throwing  its  thin 
leaves  and  often  pensile  spray  lightly  on  the  air,  to  the  broad- 
headed  black  birch,  with  its  rich,  glossy  and  abundant  foliage, 
weighing  its  pendulous  branches  almost  to  the  ground, — no  fam- 
ily affords  such  a  variety  of  aspect.  There  are  five  birches  in 
Massachusetts  which  are  trees,  besides  one  which  is  a  shrub. 
They  are  thus  distinguished  : — 

1.  The  Black  Birch,  by  having  its  bark  dark  colored; 

2.  The  Yellow  Birch, — bark  yellowish,  with  a  silvery  lustre'; 

3.  The  Red  Birch, — bark  reddish  or  chocolate-colored,  very 
much  broken  and  ragged ; 

4.  The  Canoe  Birch, — bark  white,  with  a  pearly  lustre; 

5.  The  Gray  or  White  Birch, — bark  white,  chalky,  dotted 
with  black; 

6.  The  Dwarf  or  Shrub  Birch, — bark  covered  with  glandular 
points,  a  shrub. 

Michaux  arranged  the  birches  in  two  sections  :  one  compre- 
hending trees  whose  fertile  aments  are  sessile  and  erect ;  the 
Black,  the  Yellow,  the  Red,  and  the  Glandular,  birches ;  the 
other,  those  whose  fertile  aments  are  stalked  and  pendulous,  the 
Canoe,  the  White,  and  the  common  European.  The  division 
seems  a  very  natural  one,  bringing  together  those  which  are 
most  nearly  allied  in  habit,  and  in  the  qualities  of  their  wood. 

Sp.  1.      The  Black  Birch.     Sweet  Birch.      B.  lenta.      Linn. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  74. 

The  black  birch  is  easily  distinguished  by  the  dark  color  of 
its  bark ;  and  from  this  obtains  the  name  by  which  it  is  almost 
universally  known.  From  its  resemblance,  in  bark  and  leaves, 
to  a  cherry  tree,  it  is  also  sometimes  called  the  cherry  birch ; 
and  from  the  agreeable  spicy  odor  and  taste  of  the  leaves  and 
inner  bark,  it  often  has  the  name  of  the  sweet  birch,  or  fragrant 
birch,  as  in  Bryant's  lines  on  the  murdered  Traveller, — 

"The  fragrant  birch  above  him  hung  her  tassels  in  the  sky, 
And  many  a  vernal  blossom  sprung  and  nodded  careless  by." 


204        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  black  birch  is  the  most  beautiful,  and,  for  the  useful 
properties  of  its  wood,  the  most  valuable  of  its  family. 

Early  in  spring  it  expands  its  long  aments,  which  hang  like 
tassels  of  purple  and  gold,  and  continue  for  many  days  shedding 
beauty  and  fragrance,  at  a  time  when  few  other  objects  feel  the 
kindly  influences  of  the  season  ;  and  it  is  amongst  the  first  trees 
to  put  forth  its  leaves.  In  the  forest,  in  the  rich,  cool,  moist 
soils  which  it  prefers,  on  mountain  sides,  or  the  banks  of  streams, 
it  often  attains  the  height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet.  On  an  open 
plain,  growing  by  itself,  it  is  a  round-headed  tree,  and  from  the 
length  and  slenderness  of  its  somewhat  tortuous  branches,  they 
become  pendulous,  forming  the  most  graceful  of  the  weeping 
trees.  It  is  found  in  every  county,  but  flourishes  most  in  the 
mountainous  districts.  The  light,  winged  seed  often  lodges  and 
vegetates  in  crannies  of  almost  inaccessible  rocks,  and  thence 
pushes  down  its  roots,  over  the  bare  rock,  to  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, in  search  of  a  foothold  in  the  soil.  It  is  often,  too,  seen 
growing  from  the  top  of  the  mass  of  soil  and  stones  adhering  to 
the  roots  of  an  old,  overturned  tree. 

The  trunk  in  small  trees  is  covered  with  a  smooth,  dark  pur- 
ple bark,  entire,  or,  in  larger  trees,  with  distant  chinks.  On 
very  old  trunks,  it  is  broken  into  horizontal,  straight-edged 
plates,  which  become  loose  at  the  end,  and  scale  off  in  broad 
sheets.  The  spray  is  very  slender,  of  a  reddish  bronze  color, 
gradually  deepening  to  a  very  dark  polished  bronze,  almost 
black,  dotted  with  conspicuous  gray  dots.  The  buds  are  coni- 
cal and  pointed.  The  leaves  are  two  or  three  inches  long,  and 
one,  or  one  and  a  half  wide,  oblong-ovate,  heart-shaped  at  base, 
tapering  to  a  point,  finely  and  sharply  but  irregularly  serrate, 
smooth  and  somewhat  impressed  on  the  veins  above,  paler,  and 
with  the  veins  straight  and  prominent,  and  hairy  beneath,  the 
under  surface  dotted  with  numerous  resinous,  but  not  viscid  dots. 
They  are  on  short  curved  footstalks  sometimes  a  little  hairy. 
On  the  lower  parts  of  the  branches,  they  are  in  twos,  towards  the 
ends,  alternate.  In  autumn,  they  assume  various  shades  of 
ochreous  yellow,  or  pale  orange,  or  an  extremely  delicate  yel- 
low, lighter  than  orange,  nearly  a  lemon  color. 

The  male  flowers  are  on  cylindrical,  pendulous  catkins,  from 


V.     1.  THE  BLACK  BIRCH.  205 

two  to  four  inches  long,  and  one  quarter  of  an  inch  wide,  set  with 
loosely  arranged  scales.  Each  flower  is  within  a  broad-ovate, 
shield-like,  pointed,  brown  scale,  to  which  are  attached  two 
smaller  ones  below,  and  within,  three  thinner,  bearded  scales, 
supporting  twelve  stamens  with  single-lobed  anthers,  growing 
by  twos  on  pedicels,  with  often  a  slender  scale  at  the  base  of 
each.  These  catkins  are  towards  the  end  of  the  branches,  oc- 
cupying each  the  place  of  a  pair  of  leaves. 

The  female  flowers  are  on  smaller  catkins,  about  half  an  inch 
long  and  one  eighth  in  diameter,  lower  on  the  branches,  with 
two  leaves  at  the  base  of  each.  The  scales  are  close  set,  imbri- 
cate, small,  green,  rounded  or  pointed  at  the  end,  with  an  ear- 
like lobe  on  each  side  at  the  base.  Within  each  are  three  pairs 
of  ovaries  with  awl-shaped  stigmas. 

The  fruit  is  erect,  nearly  sessile,  elliptical,  or  cylindrical  with 
rounded  ends,  an  inch  or  somewhat  less  long,  and  half  an  inch 
thick,  made  up  of  shining,  resinous  scales  of  three  equal  lobes, 
closely  imbricated,  and  having  three  seeds,  ovate  and  with  broad 
wings,  within  each. 

Michaux  found  this  tree  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  Maine,  and  "  on 
the  estate  of  Vermont,"  as  Loudon  has  translated  him;  also  in 
the  Middle  States  and  on  the  Alleghanies,  throughout  their 
whole  extent,  till  they  terminate  in  Georgia. 

The  wood  is  easily  wrought,  and,  as  it  has  strength,  firmness 
and  durability,  it  is  much  used  in  the  arts.  It  has  a  delicate 
rose  color,  which  deepens  from  exposure,  but  never  becomes 
dark,  and  the  difference  between  the  annual  circles  of  different 
degrees  of  maturity,  giving  a  rich,  clouded,  or,  as  it  is  technically 
called,  landscape  appearance,  it  is  in  request  for  the  panels 
in  the  foot  and  head-boards  of  bedsteads,  and  in  other  cabinet 
furniture.  It  is  sometimes  used  to  make  yokes,  which  proves 
its  strength  to  be  considerable.  It  is  also  used  for  joists,  for  bed- 
steads and  for  chairs,  for  which  it  is  a  beautiful  material,  though 
it  does  not  bend  so  well  as  yellow  birch.  Small  tubs  are  made 
of  it,  and  it  is  sometimes  used  for  back-boards  in  carriages. 

The  black  birch  is  excellent  for  fuel,  next,  indeed,  to  the 
rock  maple,  in  the  Green  Mountains,  and  in  the  northern  part  of 
New  England,  where  it  comes  to  the  greatest  perfection.     A 


206       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

decoction  of  the  bark,  with  copperas,  is  used  for  coloring  woollen 
a  beautiful  and  permanent  drab,  bordering  on  wine  color. 

In  a  pasture  south  of  Meeting-house  Pond,  in  Westminster, 
among  the  broad  clumps  or  islands  of  broad-leaved  laurel,  I 
found  a  black  birch  in  July,  1839,  which,  at  three  feet  from  the 
ground,  measured  nine  feet  and  five  inches  in  girth.  This  tree 
was  remarkable  for  the  projection  of  the  roots  just  above  the 
surface,  for  the  deep  rifts  in  the  old  bark,  which  peeled  off  in 
broad  plates,  and  for  an  enormous  fungus  which  had  attached 
itself  to  the  bottom  of  one  of  the  cracks.  This  measured  eighteen 
inches  across,  eleven  in  height,  and  projected  eleven  inches  hori- 
zontally from  the  trunk. 

Sp.  2.     The  Yellow  Birch.     B.  excelsa.     Aiton. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  73. 

In  its  native  forests,  the  yellow  birch  is  a  lofty  tree,  lifting  its 
head  into  the  sunshine  among  the  tall  hemlocks,  rock  maples 
and  ashes,  with  which  it  grows.  It  is  distinguished  by  its  yel- 
lowish bark  of  a  soft  silken  texture,  and  silvery  or  pearly  lustre. 
The  recent  and  still  growing  shoots  are  slender,  of  a  reddish, 
purplish,  or  deep  bottle  green,  somewhat  hairy,  and  dotted  with 
gray.  The  older  branchlets  are  of  a  polished  copper  or  golden 
bronze,  or  of  a  dark  alder  green,  with  often  a  thin,  grayish, 
transparent  film  scaling  off  horizontally  in  rolls.  On  the  larger 
branches  in  young  trunks,  the  bark  begins  to  assume  a  metallic 
lustre,  with  the  horizontal  dots  long  and  conspicuous,  and  the 
epidermis  loose  in  narrow  strips,  hanging  out  like  the  frayed 
ends  of  narrow  ribbons.  The  trunk  then  begins  to  take  a  yel- 
lowish color,  and  thin  lichens  intersperse  their  black-dotted, 
white  clouds.  On  vigorous  trunks  of  a  foot  in  diameter,  are 
seen  long  rolls  of  loose  bark  adhering  by  the  middle  or  by  one 
end;  while,  in  very  old  trees,  the  trunk  becomes  rough,  with 
large,  broad,  gray  scales,  separated  by  furrows,  and  giving 
lodgment  for  the  mosses,  and  liverworts,  and  larger  lichens, 
which  abound  in  the  deep  shades  of  the  primeval  woods.  The 
yellow  birch  is  often  found  seven  or  eight  feet  in  circumference, 
measured  above  the  bulging  of  the  roots,  and  with  only  two  or 


V.     1.  THE  YELLOW  BIRCH.  207 

three  large  branches,  near  the  top,  at  sixty  or  seventy  feet  from 
the  ground.  The  roots  often  swell  out  above  the  surface  in  a 
picturesque  or  sometimes  fantastic  manner. 

The  leaves,  except  on  the  growing  shoots,  are  in  twos,  on 
short,  curved,  hairy  footstalks.  When  they  first  come  out,  they 
are  covered  with  hair.  They  are  oval  or  elliptic,  of  more  or 
less  egg-shaped,  contracted  towards  the  base  and  heart-shaped, 
tapering  to  a  rather  long  point,  more  coarsely  serrate  than  those 
of  the  black  birch,  the  serratures  prolonged,  smooth  or  a  little 
hairy  above  when  mature,  pale  and  hairy  along  the  mid-rib 
beneath.  On  the  green,  hairy,  growing  shoots,  the  leaves  are 
alternate,  with  short,  taper,  lance-shaped  stipules,  which  soon 
fall  off.     In  autumn,  the  leaves  become  of  a  soft,  pale  yellow. 

The  catkins  of  the  male  flowers  are  two  or  three  inches  long, 
at  the  ends  of  the  branches,  somewhat  larger  and  shorter  than 
on  the  black  birch,  but,  like  them,  hanging  like  golden  and  pur- 
ple tassels  on  the  branches,  just  as  the  leaves  are  beginning  to 
unfold.  The  scales  are  slightly  fringed.  The  aments  of  the 
fertile  flowers  are  short  and  nearly  erect,  in  the  common  axil  of 
two  leaves,  on  the  sides  or  ends  of  the  branchlets.  When  fully 
grown  and  mature,  they  form  an  egg-shaped  cone,  about  an 
inch  or  an  inch  and  a  quarter  long,  and  four  or  five  eighths  of 
an  inch  thick,  nearly  sessile,  erect,  and  formed  of  stiff,  tough, 
three-lobed  scales,  hairy  without,  and  containing,  within,  three 
inversely  kidney-shaped  winged  seeds,  with  the  two  brown 
styles  in  a  notch  at  the  top. 

The  yellow  birch  has  not  often  been  cultivated  for  ornament, 
but  it  has  great  beauty.  In  travelling,  we  sometimes  see  it  on 
the  edge  of  a  wood,  with  its  abundant  soft,  green,  often  droop- 
ing foliage,  between  masses  of  which  is  seen  the  gleam  of  the 
light  bronze  trunk  with  its  silver  and  pearly  lustre.— showing 
what  might  be  its  effect  introduced  in  ornamental  woods. 

The  wood  of  this  tree  is  applied  to  numerous  uses.  Bending 
readily,  it  is  particularly  adapted  to  the  making  of  the  posts  and 
bars  of  chairs.  It  is  used  for  the  staves  of  small  and  inferior 
casks,  for  boot-trees,  and  foT  joists  and  bedsteads.  In  Rich- 
mond, among  the  Shakers,  floors  are  made  of  it,  as  also  of  the 
black  birch.     It  is  valuable  as  fuel. 


208       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

At  Lanesboro',  I  measured,  in  1838,  a  yellow  birch,  of  ten 
feet  seven  inches  girth  at  the  ground. 

Sp.  3.     The  Red  Birch.     B.  nigra.     Aiton. 
Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  72. 

This  tree  is  somewhat  different  in  aspect  and  character  from 
the  other  birches.  It  is  usually  found  bending  over  a  stream 
with  its  roots  always  in  the  water,  or  growing,  in  company  with 
the  swamp  white  oak  and  red  maple,  in  places  which,  during  one 
half  the  year,  are  inundated.  In  such  situations,  it  is  rarely 
erect,  but  commonly  bends  towards  the  water.  When  erect  and 
standing  alone,  it  is  a  singularly  graceful  tree,  with  its  upper 
limbs  long  and  sweeping  out  like  those  of  an  elm,  and  its  trunk 
almost  clothed  with  small,  leafy,  pendulous  branches.  Usually, 
it  is  remarkable  for  throwing  out  many  small  branches  near 
the  ground,  and  for  the  denseness  and  multitude  of  its  branches 
above.  The  stem,  in  trees  thirty  feet  high,  is  covered  with 
a  reddish-white  bark  more  loose  and  torn  than  that  of  any 
other  tree.  The  external  bark,  wanting  the  great  tenacity  of 
the  white  and  canoe  birches,  separates,  in  flakes  an  inch  or  two 
broad,  adhering  by  one  end,  while  the  other  projects  like  an 
ample  fringe.  The  color  of  this  loose  bark,  when  seen  by 
transmitted  light,  as  we  see  it  from  the  ground,  is  a  light  red ; 
when  seen  by  reflected  light  it  is  a  reddish  brown  or  chocolate 
color.  The  trunk  on  old  trees  is  dark  gray,  very  rough,  with 
little  resemblance  to  that  of  any  other  birch  except  the  black, 
and  very  much  like  the  black  cherry,  but  not  so  dark. 

The  recent  shoots  are  brown  and  downy;  those  of  a  year  or 
more  are  black,  dotted  with  light  gray.  The  branches  are  very 
numerous,  small,  dependent,  with  bark  on  the  larger  ones 
brownish  or  whitish  red,  and  excessively  ragged.  Leaves  heater- 
shaped,  or  rhombic,  the  larger  ones  three  or  three  and  a  half 
inches  long,  and  two  or  two  and  a  half  wide,  uniformly  acute  at 
the  base  and  at  the  extremity,  conspicuously  doubly  serrate, 
bright  green  above,  glaucous  beneath.  The  leaf-stalks  are  short, 
and,  with  the  leaf,  downy  when  recently  expanded.  The  bark 
within  is  of  an  ochrey  orange  red  ;   the  wood,  white  and  hard. 


V.     1.  THE  RED  BIRCH.  209 

This  tree  is  found  growing  abundantly  on  Spicket  River  and 
in  neighboring  swamps  in  Methuen.  It  is  there  called  the  river 
birch.  As  fuel,  it  is  said  to  be  nearly  equal  to  hickory,  and  the 
tree  is  of  very  rapid  growth.  The  wood  is  close-grained  and 
very  hard,  and,  when  kept  dry,  very  durable.  It  has  not  been 
much  used  in  the  arts.  Yokes  have  been  made  of  it,  which 
are  excellent,  except  that  they  are  apt  to  crack  from  exposure 
to  the  sun ;  which  defect  may  be  obviated  by  water-seasoning. 

The  trees  are  usually  about  a  foot  in  diameter  and  fifty  feet 
high.  One  measured  five  feet  two  inches  in  circumference,  and 
appeared  to  be  sixty  feet  high. 

The  younger  Michaux  assumes  the  banks  of  a  small  river  in 
New  Jersey,  ten  miles  from  New  York,  as  the  northern  limit 
of  this  birch.  He  found  it  abundant  in  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  but  rarely  more  than  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter 
and  seventy  feet  high.  It  would  probably  flourish  as  well 
in  Massachusetts  as  in  either  of  those  States,  as  its  growth 
is  very  luxuriant  in  the  limited  region  to  which  it  seems  to  be 
here  confined.  The  seed-bearing  cones  are  said  to  be  ripe  in 
June. 

Michaux  says  that  the  wood  is  pretty  compact  and  nearly 
white,  and  presents  the  peculiarity,  like  that  of  the  June  berry, 
of  being  longitudinally  marked  with  red  vessels,  intersecting 
each  other  in  different  directions.  The  negroes  make  bowls 
and  trays  of  the  wood,  and,  of  the  young  stocks  and  of  branches 
not  exceeding  an  inch  in  diameter,  hoops,  particularly  for  rice 
casks.  In  Philadelphia,  its  twigs  are  made  into  brooms  for 
streets  and  court-yards.  A  similar  use  is  made  of  the  twigs  of 
the  gray  birch  in  some  parts  of  New  England. 

The  red  birch  might  be  easily  propagated  along  the  streams 
of  every  part  of  New  England,  and  would  serve  the  same  pur- 
pose as  the  alders,  in  preventing  the  washing  away  of  the 
banks,  while  it  would  form  a  still  more  beautiful  fringe,  and 
furnish  a  useful  growth  for  fuel,  and  for  the  arts. 
28 


210        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sp.  4.     The  Canoe  Birch.     B.  papyracea.     Aiton. 

The  leaves  and  strobile  are  figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  pi.  69  ;  the  tree, 
leaves  and  aments  in  Loudon,  Arboretum,  VII,  Plate  236. 

The  paper  birch  is  a  northern  tree,  being  found  as  far  north 
as  latitude  65°.  It  grows  naturally  on  river  banks  and  in 
moist,  deep  soil,  flourishing  in  almost  any  situation,  but  never 
attaining  a  very  large  size  in  Massachusetts.  It  is  a  picturesque 
tree ;  the  points  of  light  from  its  white  trunk  producing  a  bril- 
liant effect  in  the  midst  of  its  soft  but  glittering  foliage,  hanging, 
as  we  often  see  it,  over  some  mountain  stream,  or  sweeping  up 
with  a  graceful  curve  from  the  side  of  its  steep  bank. 

The  recent  shoots  are  of  a  reddish  or  purplish  olive  green, 
gradually  deepening,  in  successive  years,  into  a  dark  copper 
bronze,  conspicuously  dotted  with  grayish  brown  dots,  and  con- 
trasting strikingly  with  the  white  trunk.  The  larger  branches 
and  upper  part  of  the  trunk,  and  portions  of  the  lower,  have 
often  a  red  tinge,  whence  the  tree  has  been  sometimes  mistaken 
for  the  red  birch,  which  is  not  found  quite  so  far  north.  The 
smooth  white  bark  of  the  trunk  may  be  easily  separated  into 
thin  horizontal  layers,  of  an  orange  color  within.  The  lenti- 
cellar  dots  of  the  twigs  become,  on  the  larger  trunks,  horizontal 
stripes  of  a  yellowish  brick  or  orange  color,  two  or  three  inches 
long,  and  a  line  wide. 

The  leaves  are  alternate  on  the  growing  branches,  and  in 
pairs  below,  on  tapering  footstalks,  of  one  quarter  or  one  third  of 
their  length.  They  are  from  two  to  four  inches  long,  and  some- 
times more  than  two  wide,  often  inequilateral,  broad,  oblong- 
egg-shaped,  inclining  to  heater-shaped,  tapering  to  a  point,  ir- 
regularly, doubly  and  coarsely,  but  sharply  serrate;  smooth 
above,  roughly  reticulated  beneath ;  dotted  above  and  beneath, 
when  young,  with  resinous,  silvery  dots,  and  downy  about  the 
axils  of  the  veins  beneath.  They  resemble  the  leaves  of  the 
common  gray  birch,  but  are  broader  towards  the  extremity. 

The  male  flowers  are  in  pendulous  catkins,  three  or  four 
inches  long,  with  the  scales  very  slightly  fringed.  The  fertile 
catkins   are   longer  than  in  the  other  birches,   and  have  their 


V.     1.  THE  CANOE  BIRCH.  211 

scales  three-lobed  at  base,  and  also  slightly  ciliate.  The  stig- 
mas are  longer  than  in  the  white  birch,  and  give  the  slender 
aments  a  rougher  appearance.  When  mature,  the  fertile  cat- 
kins are  cylindrical,  an  inch  and  a  quarter  or  half  long,  pendu- 
lous on  slender  stalks  half  an  inch  in  length.  They  are  made 
up  of  imbricated,  three-lobed  scales,  the  middle  lobe  acute,  the 
side  lobes  orbicular,  enclosing  three  ovate  seeds,  with  broad  thin 
membranaceous  wings  and  persistent  stiles,  resembling  a  winged 
insect  with  antenna?.  The  fruit,  like  that  of  the  other  birches, 
is  full  grown  in  July,  at  which  time  the  male  catkins  of  the 
next  year  begin  to  show  themselves  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 

From  the  tough,  incorruptible  bark  of  the  canoe  birch,  were 
formed  the  canoes  of  the  former  inhabitants  of  New  England, 
models  of  ingenuity  and  taste,  so  admirably  adapted,  by  their 
lightness  and  shape,  to  the  interrupted  navigation  of  the  savage. 
Michaux  has  given  an  interesting  account  of  the  various  uses 
of  the  bark: — 

"  In  Canada,  and  in  the  District  of  Maine,  the  country  peo- 
ple place  large  pieces  of  it  immediately  below  the  shingles  of 
the  roof,  to  form  a  more  impenetrable  covering  for  their  houses; 
baskets,  boxes  and  portfolios  are  made  of  it,  which  are  some- 
times embroidered  with  silk  of  different  colors;  divided  into 
very  thin  sheets,  it  forms  a  substitute  for  paper;  and,  placed 
between  the  soles  of  the  shoes  and  in  the  crown  of  the  hat,  it  is 
a  defence  against  humidity.  But  the  most  important  purpose 
to  which  it  is  applied,  and  one  in  which  it  is  replaced  by  the 
bark  of  no  other  tree,  is  the  construction  of  canoes.  To  procure 
proper  pieces,  the  largest  and  smoothest  trunks  are  selected  :  in 
the  spring,  two  circular  incisions  are  made  several  feet  apart, 
and  two  longitudinal  ones  on  opposite  sides  of  the  tree ;  after 
which,  by  introducing  a  wooden  wedge,  the  bark  is  easily  de- 
tached. These  plates  are  usually  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  and 
two  feet  nine  inches  broad.  To  form  the  canoe,  they  are  stitched 
together  with  fibrous  roots  of  the  white  spruce,  about  the  size 
of  a  quill,  which  are  deprived  of  the  bark,  split,  and  suppled 
in  water.  The  seams  are  coated  with  resin  of  the  Balm  of  Gil- 
ead.  Great  use  is  made  of  these  canoes  by  the  savages  and  by 
the  French  Canadians,  in  their  long  journeys  into  the  interior  of 


212        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  country  :  they  are  very  light,  and  are  easily  transported  on 
the  shoulders  from  one  lake  or  river  to  another,  which  is  called 
the  portage.  A  canoe  calculated  for  four  persons  with  their 
baggage,  weighs  from  forty  to  fifty  pounds ;  some  of  them  are 
made  to  carry  fifteen  passengers." — Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  p.  87. 

"In  the  settlements  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  tents  are 
made  of  the  bark  of  this  tree,  which,  for  that  purpose,  is  cut  into 
pieces  twelve  feet  long  and  four  feet  wide.  These  are  sewed 
together  by  threads  made  of  the  white  spruce  roots,  already 
mentioned ;  and  so  rapidly  is  a  tent  put  up,  that  a  circular  one 
of  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  and  ten  feet  high,  does  not  occupy 
more  than  half  an  hour  in  pitching.  The  utility  of  these  '  rind 
tents,'  as  they  are  called,  is  acknowledged  by  every  traveller 
and  hunter  in  the  Canadas.  They  are  used  throughout  the 
whole  year;  but,  during  the  hot  months  of  June,  July,  and 
August,  they  are  found  particularly  comfortable." — Loudon, 
Arb.  Ill,  p.  1709. 

This  birch,  in  some  parts  of  the  northern  regions,  attains  a 
diameter  of  six  or  seven  feet.  It  is  said  not  to  occur  far  south 
of  the  Hudson. 

The  heart- wood  of  the  canoe  birch  has  a  reddish  hue.  The 
sap-wood  is  beautifully  white.  It  is  soft,  smooth,  takes  a  fine 
polish,  with  a  pearly  lustre,  and  is  therefore  fitted  for  ornamen- 
tal works.  But  it  is  perishable,  when  exposed  to  alternations  of 
moisture,  and  not  remarkable  for  strength.  A  cance  birch  cut 
in  summer  and  kept  constantly  from  the  weather,  is  very  dura- 
ble, and  becomes  very  hard.  I  have  seen  studs  made  of  it 
nearly  forty  years  old,  entirely  free  from  decay.  It  is  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  chairs,  and  in  other  cabinet  work.  A 
portion  taken  from  a  part  of  the  trunk  from  which  a  large 
branch  issues,  makes  a  beautifully  feathered  and  variegated 
surface  for  the  front  of  a  bureau,  or  for  a  table.  It  is  also  used 
for  hat-blocks,  and  for  many  uses  of  the  turner. 

Formerly,  when  large  old  trees  of  this  species  were  more  com- 
mon, the  bark  was  used  in  the  manner  described  above  by  Mi- 
chaux  being  placed  beneath  the  shingles.  Many  old  buildings  in 
the  back  parts  of  New  England  are  still  found  covered  in  this 
way.     Carefully  laid,  it  makes  a  covering  impenetrable  to  rain, 


V.     1.  THE  WHITE  BIRCH.  213 

and  a  most  effectual  screen  against  heat  and  cold ;  and  it  is 
almost  imperishable. 

Sp.  5.     The  White  Birch.     B.  populifolla.      Aiton. 

Leaves  and  strobile  figured  by  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  71 ;  the  tree,  leaves 
and  aments,  by  Loudon,  Arboretum,  VII,  Plate  235. 

The  white  birch,  or  the  little  gray  birch,  as  it  is  often  more 
descriptively  called,  can  be  mistaken  for  no  other  tree  except 
the  canoe  birch,  from  which  it  is  distinguished  by  the  grayish 
color  and  chalky  surface  of  its  harder  bark,  and  by  the  marked 
triangular  form  of  its  leaf,  which  tapers  to  a  very  long,  slender 
point.  It  is  a  tree  of  third  rate,  never,  so  far  as  I  have  seen, 
even  in  the  most  favorable  situations,  attaining  the  height  of 
forty  feet,  and  usually  not  over  twenty-five  or  thirty.  One  of 
the  largest  I  have  ever  seen  measured  four  feet  and  two  inches 
in  girth  at  the  ground,  and  two  feet  eight  inches  at  three  feet 
above.  It  is,  in  many  parts  of  New  England,  beyond  whose 
limits  it  is  not  known  to  extend  far,  southward  or  northward, 
the  most  common  companion  of  the  pitch  pine,  in  the  poorest 
sandy  soils.  But,  independently  of  its  associations  with  ster- 
ility, which  it  is  well  entitled  to,  as  it  springs  up  and  grows 
rapidly  in  spots  deserted  by  every  other  deciduous  tree, — it  is 
a  graceful  and  beautiful  object,  enjoying,  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree, the  lightness  and  airiness  of  the  birch  family,  and  spread- 
ing out  its  glistening  leaves  on  the  ends  of  a  very  slender  and 
often  pensile  spray,  with  an  indescribable  softness.  So  that 
Coleridge  might  have  called  it,  as  he  did  the  corresponding  Eu- 
ropean species, 

: "most  beautiful 

Of  forest  trees — the  lady  of  the  woods." 

It  often  makes  a  striking  appearance  at  a  little  distance,  from  its 
delicate  and  elegantly  cut,  feathery  foliage,  and  the  strong  con- 
trast between  the  white  trunk  and  the  black  branches,  and  the 
bright  speckles  of  the  sun's  light  thrown  back  from  the  glossy 
leaves. 

The  stem  is  erect,  or  more  usually  ascending,  clothed  with  a 
chalky  white  or  grayish  white  bark,   with  a  triangular  dusky 


214         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

space  below  the  branches.  The  branches  are  numerous  and 
small,  of  a  very  dark  purple,  looking  black  at  a  distance,  in  con- 
trast with  the  white  trunk,  and  conspicuously  spotted  with  oval, 
horizontal,  gray  dots.  The  recent  shoots  are  brown,  closely  dot- 
ted with  round  dots,  and,  in  the  next  year,  often  scattered  with 
white  scales.  The  leaves  are  on  long  slender  footstalks,  trian- 
gular or  heater-shaped,  rounded  or  right-angled,  or  heart-shaped 
at  base,  ending  in  a  long  tapering  point,  irregularly  toothed,  the 
larger  teeth  having  an  abrupt  sharp  point,  shining  on  both  sur- 
faces, and  glutinous  when  young.  In  autumn,  they  fade  to  a 
rich  yellow. 

The  male  flowers  are  on  cylindrical,  brownish-yellow,  pendu- 
lous catkins,  usually  single  at  the  end  of  the  branches,  three 
inches  long.  The  larger  scale  is  shield-like,  the  next  two  rounded, 
the  inner  three  inversely  egg-shaped,  all  fringed ;  the  former  three 
brown,  the  latter  yellowish.  The  fertile  flowers  are  in  smaller 
and  more  slender,  erect,  lateral'  catkins,  with  green  scales.  The 
stigmas  are  shorter  than  in  the  other  species,  and  the  catkins 
thence  look  smoother.  When  mature,  the  anient  becomes  a  cyl- 
indrical strobile,  an  inch  or  more  long,  and  two  or  three  eighths 
thick,  on  a  footstalk  three  eighths  of  an  inch  long. 

The  white  birch  is  valuable  for  the  rapidity  with  which  it 
grows  on  any  kind  of  soil,  or  even  without  soil.  It  makes  a 
pleasant  border  for  the  road, — infinitely  better  than  none.  I  have 
found  myself  sensibly  relieved,  in  a  walk  on  a  sunny  afternoon, 
by  the  thin  shade  of  low  dwarf  birches,  which  had  sprung  up 
by  the  road  side.  In  twelve  or  fourteen  years,  it  grows  to  its 
usual  height  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet,  and  in  this  way  bet- 
ter than  in  any  other,  can  a  profit  be  derived  from  otherwise 
useless  land.  It  makes  tolerable  fuel,  less  valuable  doubtless 
than  the  wood  of  most  other  deciduous  trees,  and  ranking  with 
that  of  the  evergreens,  but  answering  well,  for  the  common 
purposes  of  the  kitchen,  for  more  than  half  the  year.  But  it 
grows  on  poor  land,  where  scarcely  anything  else  will,  and  on 
good  land  in  a  shorter  time  than  any  other  tree,  as  on  good  land 
it  may  be  advantageously  cut  every  ten  years.  It  makes  a 
valuable  coal  for  smiths. 

All  the  birch  trees,  especially  the  black  and  the  white,  are  so 


V.     1.  THE  WHITE  BIRCH.  215 

valuable  for  timber  and  for  fuel,  that  their  cultivation  should  be 
earnestly  recommended.  They  flourish  on  all  kinds  of  soil, 
even  the  poorest,  spring  most  readily  from  seed,  and  grow  very 
rapidly.  I  therefore  give,  from  Loudon's  Arboretum,  two  modes 
of  propagating  them,  as  practised  in  England,  and  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe.  The  directions  have  reference  to  the  Euro- 
pean birch,  betula  alba,  but  from  the  intimate  resemblance  of 
the  trees  of  the  same  family,  will  doubtless  apply  to  our  native 
birches.  Indeed,  Dr.  Hooker  says  that,  judging  from  the  speci- 
mens of  the  little  white  birch  which  have  been  sent  to  him 
from  this  country,  he  cannot  see  how  it  differs,  except  in  un- 
important particulars,  from  the  white  birch  of  Europe. 

"  Birch  seed  ripens  in  September  and  October;  and  maybe 
either  gathered  and  sown  immediately,  or  preserved  in  a  dry 
loft,  and  sown  in  spring.  Sang  directs  particular  attention 
to  be  paid  to  gathering  the  seeds  only  from  weeping  trees ;  and 
this  we  know  to  be  the  direction  given  to  the  collectors  employed 
by  the  nurserymen  in  the  north  of  Scotland.  If  the  seeds  are 
to  be  sown  immediately,  the  catkins  may  be  gathered  wet ;  but, 
if  they  are  to  be  kept  till  spring,  they  ought  not  to  be  gathered 
except  when  quite  dry ;  and  every  day's  gathering  should  be 
carried  to  a  dry  loft  and  spread  out  thinly,  as  they  are  very  apt 
to  heat  when  kept  in  sacks,  or  laid  up  in  heaps.  The  seeds 
should  be  sown  in  very  fine,  light,  rich  soil,  in  beds  of  the  usual 
width,  and  very  slightly  covered.  Boutcher  says  : — '  Sow  the 
seeds  and  clap  them  into  the  ground  with  the  back  of  the  spade, 
without  any  earth  spread  over  them,  and  throw  a  little  peas 
haulm  over  the  beds  for  three  or  four  weeks,  till  the  seeds  begin 
to  vegetate.  The  peas  haulm  will  keep  the  ground  moist,  ex- 
clude frost,  and  prevent  the  birds  from  destroying  the  seeds.' 
{Treat,  on  Forest  Trees,  p.  113.)  'It  is  scarcely  possible,' 
Sang  observes,  '  to  cover  birch  seeds  too  little,  if  they  be  covered 
at  all.'  The  plants,  if  sown  in  autumn,  will  come  up  in  the 
March  or  April  following.  If  sown  in  spring,  they  will  come 
up  in  May  or  June ;  which,  in  very  cold  climates,  is  a  prefer- 
able season.  If  any  danger  is  apprehended  from  moisture  in 
the  soil  during  winter,  the  alleys  between  the  beds  may  be  deep- 
ened, so   as  to  act  as  drains.     In  the  nursery   lines,  the  plants 


216       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

require  very  little  pruning,  and  their  after-care,  when  in  planta- 
tions, is  equally  simple. 

"  Young  birch  plants  which  have  been  pulled  out  of  coppice 
woods,  when  about  two  years  old,  are  found  to  root  much  bet- 
ter than  seedlings  of  the  same  age  and  size  taken  out  of  a  reg- 
ular seed-bed  ;  doubtless  because,  in  the  latter  case,  a  greater 
proportion  of  the  taproot  requires  to  be  cut  off.  In  the  case  of 
the  young  birches  pulled  out  of  the  copses,  the  taproot,  which 
could  not  get  far  down  into  the  hard  soil,  has  its  substance  in  a 
more  concentrated  form,  and  is  more  branching ;  hence,  little 
requires  to  be  cut  off  it,  except  the  ragged  rootlets,  or  fibres ; 
and  it  may  be  considered  as  acting  as  a  bulb  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  plant.  The  tops  of  these  seedling  birches  are  shortened 
before  planting;  and  the  plants,  Mr.  Young  informs  us,  make 
as  much  wood  in  one  year  as  regular  nursery-reared  birch  seed- 
lings will  in  two." 

"In  France  and  Germany,  plantations  of  birch  are  frequently 
made  by  sowing  the  seed  where  the  trees  are  intended  finally  to 
remain.  For  this  purpose,  the  poorest  soils  are  harrowed  in  hu- 
mid weather,  in  the  month  of  October,  or  of  November,  and 
fifteen  pounds  of  seed,  as  it  is  taken  from  the  catkins  along  with 
the  scales,  is  sown  on  an  acre,  and  afterwards  covered  with  a 
bush  harrow.  Where  the  ground  is  under  corn,  the  seed  is 
sown  with  the  last  corn  crop,  as  clover  is  in  England;  and, 
where  it  abounds  with  weeds  and  bushes,  these  are  set  fire  to, 
early  in  the  autumn,  and  the  seed  sown  as  soon  afterwards  as 
it  is  gathered  from  the  trees.  It  is  observed  by  Michaux,  that 
burnt  soil  is  peculiarly  favorable  to  the  growth  of  the  birch, 
which  in  America  reappears,  as  if  by  enchantment,  in  forests 
that  have  been  burnt  down." — Loudon,  p.  1702. 

Sp.  6.     The  Dwarf  Birch.     B.   Glandulosa.     Michaux. 

The  dwarf  birch  is  a  handsome  little  shrub,  not  above  two 
feet  high,  which  is  found  far  north,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  and  in 
mountainous  regions  as  far  south  as  New  Jersey  and  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  is  found  in  a  few  places  in  this  State,  in  wet  mead- 
ows, on  or  by  the  side  of  mountains. 


V.     2.  THE  ALDER.  217 


V.     2.     THE  ALDER.     ALNUS.     Tournefort. 

The  alders  are  trees  or  tall  shrubs,  natives  of  the  cooler  re- 
gions of  the  northern  hemisphere,  and,  in  a  few  instances,  of 
the  mountains  of  tropical  America  and  of  Central  Asia.  They 
have  alternate,  entire,  deciduous  leaves,  and  stalked  buds,  in 
which  the  leaves,  plaited  and  folded  together,  are  protected  by  a 
single  scale.  The  aments  are  on  branched  stalks,  the  male,  long, 
cylindrical  and  pendulous ;  the  female,  short,  ovoid  and  erect. 
The  scales  of  the  sterile  aments  are  on  stalks,  with  usually  five 
smaller,  accessary  scales,  and  three-flowered.  The  flower-cup 
is  four-parted  and  has  four  stamens.  The  scales  of  the  fertile 
anient  are  wedge-shaped,  fleshy,  and  persistent ;  the  ovary  com- 
pressed, with  two  long  stigmas.  The  strobile  consists  of  woody 
scales  grown  together.  The  seed-vessel  or  pericarp  is  com- 
pressed, angular,  woody,  not  winged,  one-celled  and  one-seeded. 

The  roots  of  the  alders  are  large  and  strong,  extending  some- 
what beneath  the  surface,  with  few  radicles,  and  usually  throw- 
ing up,  near  the  stem,  many  suckers.  They  are  covered  with 
a  thin,  dark  orange  bark. 

The  wood  is  soft,  somewhat  tenacious,  and  durable  under 
water.  It  is,  almost  universally,  of  a  reddish  or  pale  rose  color. 
The  bark  is  thin  and  parts  easily  from  the  wood  when  the  sap 
is  rising.  The  wood  and  the  bark  of  the  species  found  on  the 
Eastern  continent  are  extensively  used  for  dyeing  and  for  tan- 
ning, as  the  bark  abounds  in  tannin. 

The  alder  usually  occurs  along  streams,  and  performs  an 
important  office  in  protecting  their  banks  from  the  running 
water.  It  may  be  readily  propagated  by  layers,  by  cuttings, 
by  truncheons,  or  by  seed. 

There  are  two  species  in  Massachusetts  : 

The  Common  Alder,  remarkable  for  the  glossy  and  often 
glutinous  surface  of  the  leaves,  and  for  their  being  larger  to- 
wards the  end  and  rounded  at  the  extremity ;  and 

The  Speckled,  with  large  leaves,  which  are  pretty  thick,  and 
have  their  lower  surface  downy  or  bluish  white,  or  rarely  green. 
29 


218       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sp.  1.     The  Common  Alder.     A.  serrulata.     Willdenow. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  75,  a  leaf  which  is  found,  but  is  not 
characteristic  of  the  species.  Faithfully  represented  in  Abbott's  Insects  of 
Georgia,  II,  Plate  92,  with  the  American  Alder  Dagger  Moth,  whose  cater- 
pillar feeds  on  the  leaves. 

The  common  alder  is  a  shrub  or  small  tree,  abounding  along 
brooks  and  in  swamps,  rarely  erect,  but  bending  upwards.  The 
branches  are  flexuose;  when  young,  smooth  or  sometimes  downy, 
and  dotted  with  gray  or  orange  oblong  dots,  brownish  green, 
becoming  afterwards  a  grayish  or  even  a  dark  bottle  green, 
with  the  dots  longer  and  horizontal,  and  often  sprinkled  with 
a  grayish  dust,  and  here  and  there  a  thin  lichen. 

The  leaves  are  alternate,  on  short,  dotted,  scaly  footstalks, 
oval  or  obovate,  rounded  or  somewhat  acute  or  wedge-shaped 
at  base,  rounded  or  with  a  blunt  point  at  the  extremity,  irregu- 
larly and  slightly  serrate,  smooth  and  shining,  with  resinous 
dots,  which  on  the  young  leaves  are  glutinous  ;  they  are  some- 
times sprinkled  with  white  scales,  and  impressed  at  the  veins 
above;  on  the  under  surface  they  are  paler  and  shining,  with 
the  larger  veins  prominent,  and  with  the  veins  downy  while 
young,  but  at  last  nearly  smooth,  and  with  a  tuft  of  down 
at  the  axils.  They  are  coriaceous  in  texture,  and  from  two 
and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half  inches  long,  and  one  and  a  half 
to  three  inches  broad.  The  stipules  form  a  purse  enclosing  the 
unexpanded  leaf.  They  are  yellowish  green,  coriaceous,  broad- 
oval,  rounded,  half  as  long  as  the  footstalk  or  more,  falling  off 
when  two  or  three  leaves  above  are  expanded. 

The  flowers  of  the  alder  are  among  the  earliest  harbingers  of 
spring.  The  aments,  which  had  begun  to  appear  towards  the 
latter  end  of  summer,  had  been  perfectly  formed  before  the  close 
of  autumn,  and  had  so  remained,  unprotected,  during  winter, 
feel  the  first  warmth,  and  expand  early  in  April  or  even  in  the 
last  days  of  March.  The  aments  of  the  male  flowers  are  from 
one  to  three  inches  long,  beautiful  tassels  of  purple  and  gold, 
in  clusters  of  three,  four,  or  five  together,  on  short,  branching, 
terminal  footstalks.  They  are  composed  of  a  central  stem  or 
rachis,  to  which  are  attached  brown  or  purple,  heart-shaped  or 


V.     2.  THE  COMMON  ALDER.  219 

rhomboidal  scales  on  short  footstalks.  Beneath  each  scale  are 
three  smaller  ones  containing  each  a  four-lobed  flower-cup  with 
four  stamens,  from  whose  anthers  issues  a  cloud  of  pollen.  The 
abundance  of  this  golden  colored  dust  gives  its  rich  hue  to  the 
pale  yellow  flower. 

The  footstalks  of  the  male  and  female  aments  part  usually 
from  the  same  point;  the  male  hang  downwards;  the  female 
stand  erect  and  seem  to  be  terminal.  The  fertile'  aments  are 
ovate-oblong,  one  fourth  or  one  third  of  an  inch  long,  of  a  deep 
purple,  bristling,  when  in  flower,  with  the  prominent  scarlet 
styles.  They  afterwards  enlarge  to  one  third  or  one  half  an 
inch  in  length,  become  very  hard,  and  remain  through  the  win- 
ter on  the  tree,  showing  a  distant  relationship  to  the  pines. 
Some  of  the  scales  of  the  ament  often  become  excessively  length- 
ened, leaf-like  or  rather  like  the  stipules,  bristling  on  the  ma- 
ture catkins,  and  at  last  turning  black  and  hard.* 

The  wood  is  white,  rapidly  becoming  orange  or  of  the  color 
of  Russia  leather,  on  exposure  to  light. 

In  some  countries,  the  alder  has  been  planted  for  a  purpose 
which  it  usually  subserves  without  the  aid  of  art,  on  the  bor- 
ders of  rivers  and  small  streams.  The  matted  roots  give  sta- 
bility to  the  banks  of  soft  earth,  and  keep  the  stream  within  its 
bounds,  while  the  stems,  overhanging  the  water,  beautifully 
fringe  the  meadows  through  which  it  flows. 

The  common  alder  is  too  small  a  tree  to  be  much  used  for  its 
wood,  except  as  fuel,  as  it  seldom  grows  more  than  twelve  or 
fourteen  feet  high  and  two  or  three  inches  in  diameter,  though 
rarely,  in  deep  swamps,  it  is  found  six  or  eight  inches  thick, 
and  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high.  It  makes  excellent  fuel,  burn- 
ing readily  and  throwing  out  much  heat.  It  is  preferred  to  any 
other  tree,  for  making  charcoal  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  gunpowder.  It  is  also  employed  for  the  hoops  of  small  casks, 
such  as  are  used  to  contain  nails  or  gunpowder.  There  are 
many  uses  to  which  it  might  be  put,  as  its  close  resemblance  to 
the  common  alder  of  Europe  indicates  an  identity  of  properties. 

*  The  alders  have  not  been  attentively  studied  by  writers  upon  American  bot- 
any. Pursh's  descriptions  seem  to  me  of  no  value.  The  expression  "  amentis 
junioribus  cylindraceis.  fructiferis  ovalibus  "  would  apply  equally  well  to  all  the  spe- 
cies.    I  doubt  whether  an  important  distinction  can  be  found  in  the  stipules. 


220       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

"In  Scotland,  the  leaves  of  that  alder  have  been  used  to  tan 
leather  and  as  food  for  sheep,  and  in  France  as  winter  food  for 
cattle.  Ulcers  have  been  healed  by  them,  and  a  decoction  has 
been  found  efficacious  in  the  cure  of  sore  throats.  The  bark, 
which  is  astringent,  is  used  by  fishermen  to  stain  their  nets ; 
with  copperas  it  forms  a  black  dye,  and,  when  concentrated,  an 
ink ;  and  it  is  used  by  the  Laplanders  to  stain  their  shoes,  gir- 
dles, and  other  articles  of  skin." — Flora  Lond'mensis,  Art.  Alnus. 

"  The  bark  on  the  young  wood,  and  the  wood  itself,  is  used  for 
tanning,  and  the  young  shoots  to  die  red,  yellow  and  green." — 
Loudon. 

Sp.  2.     The  Speckled  Aldek.     A.  incana.     Willdenow. 
The  leaf  of  the  glaucous  variety  is  figured  in  Michaux,  II,  Plate  75,  figure  2. 

This  alder  is  found  in  every  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  in 
Maine  and  New  Hampshire. 

The  recent  shoots  and  fruit-stalks  are  brown  and  downy, 
dotted  with  orange  dots.  They  gradually  become  of  an  ashen 
or  grayish  brown  where  exposed  to  light,  and  on  the  larger 
branches  and  trunk,  in  the  shade,  the  bark  is  of  a  reddish  or 
bottle-green  color,  speckled  with  conspicuous  light  gray  dots, 
whence  its  common  name  of  speckled  alder.  The  stem  is 
usually  eight  or  ten  feet  high  and  from  one  to  three  inches  in 
diameter,  but  it  is  sometimes  much  larger  and  higher, — twenty 
feet  high  and  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter. 

The  leaves  are  from  three  to  five  inches  long  and  two  to  four 
inches  wide,  broad  oval,  rounded  or  somewhat  cordate  at  base, 
pointed  at  the  end,  doubly  serrate  or  denticulate-serrate,  (each  of 
the  larger  veins  usually  forming  a  tooth  with  several  serratures 
between,)  smooth  and  conspicuously  impressed  at  the  veins  and 
veinlets  above ;  of  a  soft  coriaceous  texture ;  covered  with  abund- 
ant, soft,  often  ferruginous  pubescence  beneath,  with  the  veins 
and  veinlets  strikingly  prominent.  The  opening  leaves  are  very 
downy.  The  footstalk  stout,  half  an  inch  long,  and  downy. 
Stipules  lanceolate,  downy,  as  long  as  the  footstalk,  soon  falling. 

The  speckled  alder  is  easily  distinguished  by  the  brilliant, 
polished,  reddish  green  color  of  its  stem-bark,  and  the  size,  reg- 
ularity, impressed  reticulations  and  the  downy  under  surface  of 


V.     2.  THE  SPECKLED  ALDER.  221 

the  leaves.  The  branchlets,  at  the  time  of  flowering,  are  de- 
pendent, and  the  long,  pendulous,  sterile  catkins  are  thus  ter- 
minal, while  the  ovate  fertile  ones  are  on  shorter,  lateral  foot- 
stalks just  above.  This  is  the  reverse  of  the  arrangement  of 
the  catkins  in  the  common  alder,  in  which  the  fertile  aments, 
being  erect,  seem  terminal,  while  the  sterile  ones  bend  down. 
The  sterile  aments  are  from  one  to  three  inches  long,  of  an 
orange  and  brown  color,  more  slender  and  tapering  than  those 
of  the  common  alder.  The  fertile  aments  are  cylindrical, 
smaller  than  those  of  the  common,  and  pointing  downwards. 

This  alder  is  found  in  the  same  situations  and  soil  as  the 
common,  and  seems  to  have  similar  properties. 

A  striking  and  very  beautiful  variety  of  the  speckled  alder, 
called  the  glaucous  alder  by  the  younger  Michaux,  is  distin- 
guished by  the  pale  blue  or  glaucous  color  of  the  lower  surface 
of  the  leaves.  The  pubescence  is  less  abundant,  but  the  veins 
and  footstalk  are  often,  as  in  the  common  form  of  the  tree,  of  a 
rusty  color.  Michaux  says  that  the  glaucous  alder  sometimes 
becomes  a  tree  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height.  He  con- 
siders it  a  distinct  species  and  the  most  beautiful  of  the  alders. 

There  is  a  variety  intermediate  between  the  common  and  the 
glaucous  alder,  and  more  near  to  the  latter.  The  leaves  are 
oblong,  doubly  serrate,  and  distinctly  pointed,  rounded  or  acute . 
at  base,  the  veins  slightly  hairy  or  smooth,  and  the  axils  hairy. 
The  young  branches  are  brownish.  It  differs  from  the  com- 
mon alder  in  its  leaves  being  always  acute  and  never  obovate, 
and  from  the  speckled,  in  having  its  leaves  shining  and  free 
from  down.  The  leaves  vary  extremely  in  their  proportions, 
being  sometimes  three  or  four  inches  long,  and  one  and  a  half 
inches  broad,  tapering  at  both  extremities  ;  and  sometimes  four 
or  four  and  a  half  inches  long  and  three  and  a  half  broad. 
They  are  thinner  and  less  leathery  than  those  of  the  others. 
The  fertile  aments  are  on  much  branched  footstalks,  often  as 
many  as  twelve  together. 

The  general  aspect  of  this  alder  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
speckled  alder,  differing  in  the  greenness  of  the  under  surface 
of  the  leaves.  It  grows  in  similar  situations,  and  is  often  ten  or 
twelve  feet  high. 


222       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


FAMILY  VI.    THE  WAX  MYRTLE  FAMILY.    MYRICACEJE. 

LlNDLEY. 

A  family  of  about  thirty  species  of  leafy,  aromatic  shrubs 
with  resinous  glands  and  dots,  and  alternate,  simple,  entire 
leaves,  found  in  all  climates.  It  has  a  near  affinity  to  the 
birch  family,  differing  in  its  ovaries  having  only  one  cell,  and 
in  the  character  of  its  leaves.  Some  species  produce  eatable 
and  agreeably  acidulous  fruits  ;  the  greater  part  have  their  fruit 
covered  with  tubercles  of  a  resinous  substance  similar  to  wax. 
The  species  found  in  this  country  are  low,  fragrant  shrubs, 
remarkable  for  their  tonic,  aromatic,  and  astringent  properties. 
The  male  and  female  arnents  are  on  the  same  or  on  distinct 
plants;  the  male,  cylindrical  or  thread-like,  formed  of  bract-like 
scales,  with  from  two  to  eight  stamens  in  each  flower;  the 
female,  ovate,  sessile,  densely  imbricate  ;  with  ovaries  one-celled, 
and  containing  one  ovule,  with  two,  long,  thread-like  stigmas. 
The  fruit  is  a  drupaceous,  one-seeded  nut. 

We  have  two  genera,  the  Myrtle,  distinguished  by  its  resin- 
ous or  waxy  berries ;  and  the  Sweet  Fern,  by  its  globular,  com- 
pound fruit,  with  shining  nuts  set  in  bristling  scales. 

VI.     1.     THE  MYRTLE.     MYRICA.     L. 

Male  and  female  flowers  on  distinct  plants.  Scales  of  the 
aments  crescent-shaped.  Stamens  four.  Fruit  drupaceous. 
Leaves  wedge-lance-shaped. 

Sp.  1.    The  Sweet  Gale.     Dutch  Myrtle.     Myrica  gale.     L. 

A  dark-looking  bush  from  two  to  five  feet  high,  growing  in 
places  which  are  inundated  through  a  part  of  the  year,  and 
forming  large,  close-tangled  patches  or  islets. 

The  branches  and  upper  part  of  the  stem  are  of  a  rich  dark 
purple  color,  polished  and  shining.  On  older  stems  and  lower, 
the  outer  bark  cracks  and  rolls  horizontally,  becoming  rough 
and  of  a  lighter  color,  but  still  somewhat  shining,  giving  the 


VI.     1.  THE  SWEET  GALE.  223 

plant  a  resemblance  to  a  black  birch  in  miniature.     The  roots 
are  somewhat  matted  together,  and  extend  to  some  distance. 

The  leaves  are  from  three  to  six  fourths  of  an  inch  in  length, 
and  usually  less  than  half  an  inch  wide,  wedge-lance-shaped, 
with  a  few  serratures  towards  the  extremity,  which  is  commonly 
a  little  pointed ;  downy  on  the  veins  beneath,  and  sprinkled 
with  minute,  yellow,  resinous  dots  on  both  surfaces. 

Towards  the  end  of  summer,  the  next  year's  aments  are 
formed  in  the  axils  of  the  upper  leaves,  in  the  shape  of  short, 
ovoid,  pointed,  scaly  buds.  The  male  and  female  flowers  are  on 
separate  plants.  The  male  are  in  catkins  an  inch  or  more  long, 
in  twos  or  threes  at  the  end  of  the  branches.  They  are  made 
up  of  heart-shaped,  purple  scales,  loosely  arranged  on  an  axis. 
Each  scale  rests  on  a  short  footstalk,  is  striated  within,  has  a 
membranous  border,  and  is  set,  towards  the  base  without,  with 
numerous,  amber-colored  resinous  dots.  Stamens  about  four, 
at  the  base  of  the  scale;  the  anthers  are  short,  large,  opening 
with  four  valves.  „ 

The  fertile  flowers  are  in  ovoid  catkins  about  a  line  in  length, 
imbricate  with  triangular  scales,  from  behind  which  appear  the 
purple,  tapering,  thread-like,  bifid  stigmas.  When  mature,  the 
compound  fruit  is  in  short,  cylindrical  aments  three  or  four 
lines  long  and  three  wide,  sometimes  solitary,  but  commonly  in 
groups  of  two  to  six  at  the  end  of  a  short  branch.  It  is  made 
up  of  ovaries  surmounted  by  the  withering  styles  and  com- 
pressed between  two  swollen,  fleshy,  three-sided,  pointed  scales, 
abundantly  sprinkled  with  yellow  resinous  dots. 

When  crushed,  the  leaves  feel  somewhat  resinous,  and  exhale 
a  strong,  penetrating,  rather  unpleasant  odor.  They  are  often 
placed  in  drawers  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  out  moths. 

The  young  buds,  Dr.  Richardson  says,  are  used  by  the  Indians 
in  Canada,  to  dye  their  porcupine's  quills.  This  plant  is  found 
in  Labrador  and  Newfoundland,  and  as  far  as  Fort  Norman  on 
the  Mackenzie  River.  It  is  also  found  in  Connecticut,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Virginia. 


224       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Sp.  2.    The  Bay  Berry.     Wax  Myrtle.     Myrica  cerifera.    L. 
Figured  in  Bigelow's  American  Medical  Botany,  III,  Plate  43. 

This  is  a  crooked  shrub,  found  growing  in  interrupted,  mini- 
ature forests,  in  every  variety  of  situation  and  soil ;  from  dry, 
rocky  hills  to  sandy  plains  and  the  borders  of  marshes.  It  is 
from  two  to  six  or  seven  feet  high,  very  irregular,  rarely  erect, 
giving  off  crooked  or  angled,  rough  branches,  in  bunches  of 
three  or  four.  The  bark  is  brownish  gray,  with  clouds  of  a 
lighter  hue,  dotted  with  round,  or  oblong,  horizontal,  white  dots. 
The  leaves  are  irregularly  scattered,  often  crowded  or  tufted, 
nearly  sessile,  obovate,  lance-shaped,  abruptly  pointed,  wedge- 
shaped  at  base,  wavy,  entire  or  with  a  few  serratures,  some- 
times revolute  on  the  edge,  and  whiter  and  sprinkled  with  yel- 
lowish dots  beneath.  The  barren  flowers,  which  expand  with 
the  leaves  in  May,  are  in  stiff,  erect  catkins,  less  than  an  inch 
long,  on  the  sides  of  the  last  year's  branches.  The  scales  are 
roundish  or  rhomboidal,  somewhat  loosely  arranged,  and  con- 
tain each  three  or  four  stamens,  often  partially  united  by  twos, 
and  surmounted  by  anthers  divided  to  their  base.  The  catkins 
of  the  fertile  flowers,  which  are  on  a  different  plant,  are  much 
smaller,  erect,  made  up  of  imbricated,  oval,  pointed  scales,  con- 
taining an  ovary  surmounted  by  two  prominent,  awl-shaped 
stigmas.  On  each  matured  anient  are  from  four  to  nine,  dry, 
waxy  berries  or  drupes,  on  very  short  footstalks.  They  are  at 
first  green,  afterwards  blackish,  and  finally  white,  consisting  of 
a  stone  covered  with  black  grains  invested  with  wax.  The 
fruit-stalks  continue  to  the  second  or  third  year,  twelve  or  more 
arranged  spirally  on  a  shoot.  The  berries,  leaves  and  recent 
shoots  are  fragrant  with  a  balsamic  odor  which  seems  to  come 
from  the  minute,  transparent,  yellow  dots  with  which  the  recent 
shoots  and  under  surface  of  the  leaves  are  sprinkled.  The 
roots  are  large  and  somewhat  spreading. 

The  wax  is  obtained  by  boiling  the  berries  in  water.  It  rises 
to  the  surface  and  hardens  on  cooling.  About  one  third  part 
of  the  weight  of  the  berries  consists  of  wax.  In  Nova  Scotia, 
this  wax  is  used  extensively,  instead  of  tallow,  or  mixed  with 


VI.     2.  THE  SWEET  FERN.  225 

tallow,  to  make  candles.  It  has  sometimes,  also,  been  mixed 
with  beeswax  for  the  same  purpose.  Candles  made  of  it  diffuse 
a  very  agreeable  perfume,  but  give  a  less  brilliant  light  than  those 
made  entirely  of  animal  substance.  The  wax  of  the  bay  berry 
is  also  made  into  hard  soap  with  the  ley  of  wood  ashes,  lime, 
and  common  salt;  one  pound  of  wax  being  sufficient  for  ten 
pounds  of  soap,  and  taking  the  place  of  the  animal  or  vegetable 
oils  used  in  the  manufacture  of  common  soaps.  A  decoction  of 
the  root  has-been  sometimes  used  as  a  remedy  for  dysentery. 

VI.     2.     THE  LIQUIDAMBER.      COMPTONIA.     Banks. 

Low  shrubs  with  fragrant  leaves,  fern-like,  long,  slender, 
narrow,  and.  deeply  cut  on  both  sides  into  roundish  lobes,  and 
globular,  compound,  bristly,  bur-like  fruits,  with  roundish, 
smooth  nuts.     There  is  a  single  species  : 

The  Sweet  Fern.     Comptonia  asplenifolia.     Aiton. 

A  fragrant,  round-headed  bush,  about  two  feet  high,  abound- 
ing on  hill  sides  and  in  the  openings  in  woods.  It  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  miniature  tree.  The  recent  shoots  are  green 
or  of  a  yellowish  or  reddish  brown,  somewhat  downy,  and 
sprinkled,  as  are  the  leaves  and  stipules  on  both  surfaces, 
and  the  older  branches  towards  the  extremities,  with  minute, 
yellow,  shining,  resinous  dots.  The  branches  of  a  year's 
growth  are  yellowish  brown,  with  a  polished,  shining  surface, 
somewhat  hairy.  The  lower  ones  curve  down  and  then  up- 
wards, forming  an  inverted  arch.  The  older  ones  are  reddish 
purple  or  coppery  brown,  rather  rough,  and  closely  dotted  with 
raised,  brown  dots.  The  roots  are  long  and  creeping,  and  throw 
up  numerous  stems. 

The  leaves  are  nearly  sessile,  very  long  and  narrow,  from 
one  to  six  inches  long,  and  less  than  one  inch  wide,  pointed,  cut 
into  large,  obtuse-angled  teeth,  by  indentations  reaching  nearly 
to  the  mid-rib,  dark  green,  impressed  at  the  veins  above,  paler 
and  downy  on  the  mid-rib  and  veins  beneath ;  with  the  margin 
somewhat  reflexed.  The  stipules  are  half  an  inch  long,  lance- 
olate, acuminate,  auriculate,  or  half-arrow-shaped,  and  often 
30 


226        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

accompanied  by  an  additional  pair  of  smaller  stipules  below. 
The  buds  are  small  and  roundish. 

The  barren  aments  are  crowded  towards  the  ends  of  the 
branches,  in  the  axil  of  the  sometimes  persistent  leaves  of  the 
last  year.  They  are  erect,  about  half  an  inch  long,  composed 
of  brownish,  hairy,  pointed,  kidney-shaped  scales,  closely  in- 
vesting each  other  in  spiral  lines. 

The  fertile  aments  are  globular  and  bur-like,  less  than  an 
inch  in  diameter,  with  a  few  ovate,  smooth,  shining,  dark 
brown  nuts,  set  among  rough,  narrow,  awl -shaped,  bristly 
scales. 

The  whole  plant  gives  out  a  pleasant,  spicy  odor.  This  is 
stronger  and  somewhat  different  when  the  leaves  are  crushed. 
They  are  a  common  ingredient  in  diet  drinks,  and  an  infusion  is 
a  popular  remedy  for  dysentery. 

Dr.  Richardson  found  the  sweet  fern  in  New  Brunswick  and 
in  Canada  as  far  as  the  Saskatchawan.  It  occurs  abundantly 
throughout  the  New  England  and  Middle  States,  and  on  the 
mountains  of  Carolina  and  Georgia. 


FAMILY    VII.     THE   PLANE   TREE   FAMILY.     PLATANACEM. 

LlNDLEY. 

The  family  of  the  plane  trees  comprehends  some  of  the  lofti- 
est and  largest  deciduous  trees  of  the  northern  temperate  zone. 
They  are  distinguished  for  their  broad  leaves,  globular  inflores- 
cence and  fruit,  and  the  absence  of  milk  in  leaves,  fruit,  wood 
and  bark.  In  some  parts  of  the  old  continent,  they  are  valued 
for  their  timber,  and  have  been,  from  ancient  times,  most  highly 
esteemed  for  their  shade.  The  leaf-buds  are  enclosed  in  the 
leaf-stalk,  whence  the  planes  are  necessarily  deciduous,  the 
expansion  of  the  buds  forcing  the  previous  leaves  from  their 
articulation.  The  layers  of  bark  have  little  mutual  adherence, 
and  are  deficient  in  toughness  and  extensibility ;  the  outer  lay- 
ers are  therefore  liable  to  fall  off  in  large  irregular  patches. 
The  roots  are  long  and  running.     By  some  writers  the  plane 


VII.  THE  BUTTONWOOD  TREE.  227 

trees  are  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Bread  Fruit  Family, 
with  which  they  have  many  points  of  resemblance. 

The  planes  are  natives  of  the  Levant,  Barbary,  and  North 
America.  The  bark  has  someastringency,  the  leaves  have  been 
used  in  fomentations,  and  were  formerly  considered  an  antidote 
to  the  bite  of  serpents. 

THE  PLANE  TREE.     PLATANUS.     L. 

This  is  a  genus,  the  only  one  of  the  family,  of  lofty  trees, 
with  broad,  spreading  branches,  and  large  leaves,  forming  a 
dense  foliage.  The  young  shoots,  leaves,  and  stipules  are  thick- 
ly covered  with  fine  down,  which,  as  they  expand,  falls  off,  and 
floating  in  the  atmosphere,  is  liable  to  be  inhaled  by  persons  in 
their  vicinity.  This  produces  a  disagreeable  cough,  sometimes 
of  considerable  duration ;  and  the  circumstance  forms  a  strong 
objection  to  planting  these  trees  in  the  neighborhood  of  dwelling- 
houses. 

Two  species,  the  Occidental  Plane,  and  the  Californian,  are 
found  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  a  third,  the 
Oriental,  is  generally  diffused  on  the  eastern  continent,  and  two 
others,  possibly  varieties  of  this,  occur  in  the  extreme  east.  The 
only  one  native  to  Massachusetts  is 

The  Buttonwood  Tree.     Platanus  occldenlalis.     L. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  63  ;  in  Catesby's  Carolina,  Plate  56. 
The  tree  is  represented,  as  seen  in  winter,  in  Loudon,  Arb.,  VIII,  Plate  289. 
The  leaves  are  figured,  together  with  the  beautiful  Plane  Tree  Moth,  whose 
caterpillar  lives  on  them,  by  Abbott,  II,  Plate  55  ;  and  by  Audubon,  with  the 
Summer  Duck  ;  Birds  of  America,  III,  Plate  206. 

At  a  place  called  Vaucluse,  some  miles  from  Newport,  on  the 
island  of  Rhode  Island,  on  an  estate  formerly  belonging  to  Samuel 
Elam,  a  man  of  taste  and  of  humanity,  there  was  standing,  in 
September,  1839,  on  the  side  of  a  small  stream,  a  buttonwood 
tree,  which  measured  atone  foot  from  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
twenty-four  feet  four  inches.  The  thickness  of  the  tree  and  the 
declivity  of  the  bank,  made  the  ground  two  feet  and  a  half 
higher  on  one  side  than  on  the  other,  so  that  this  measure  was 


228       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

three  feet  and  a  half  from  the  ground  on  the  lower  side.  Four 
feet  higher,  it  measured  twenty-one  feet  four  inches.  At  ten  or 
twelve  feet  it  divided  into  two  trunks  which  rose,  parallel,  to 
the  height  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  feet.  In  some  aspects, 
it  looked  at  a  distance  like  a  tree  with  one  undivided  trunk ;  in 
others,  like  two  trees.  Many  moderately  large  branches  thrown 
out  far  from  the  ground,  gave  it  a  long,  cylindrical  head.  The 
root  covered  the  ground  from  four  to  eight  feet  on  all  sides  of  the 
trunk.  In  this  horizontal  pavement,  some  openings  indicated 
decay,  hut  in  every  other  respect,  the  tree  had  the  appearance 
of  perfect  vigor.* 

I  fear  that  tree  may  not  he  now  alive,  as  many  of  the 
finest  plane  trees  have  perished  within  a  few  years ;  if  it  is  still 
standing,  it  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable,  for  size  and  loftiness, 
in  New  England.  Few  trees  are  left  of  such  gigantic  dimen- 
sions as  this.  But  still  the  plane  is  the  largest,  grandest,  and 
loftiest  deciduous  tree  in  America.  It  has  a  magnificent  colum- 
nar trunk.  For  a  short  distance  from  the  ground  it  diminishes 
with  a  rapid,  but  regular  curve,  which  gives  it  a  base  of  vast 
stability  ;  thence  with  a  scarcely  perceptible  taper,  a  shaft  rises 
high  in  the  air,  bearing  its  light  green  top  aloft,  above  the  sum- 
mit of  the  other  trees  of  the  forest.  The  trunk  presents  a  great 
variety  of  appearance.  Rarely,  it  is  seen  with  an  ashen  gray 
bark  cracked  and  rough,  like  other  trees.     But  the  bark  has  very 

*  This  horizontal  expansion  at  the  base  is  common  in  the  plane  tree  of  Europe. 
Olivier,  speaking  of  the  great  plane  tree  of  Buyuk-dere,  a  valley  on  the  Dardan- 
elles, six  miles  from  the  Black  Sea,  says — "  Seven  or  eight  trees,  of  an  enormous 
size,  adhering  at  their  base,  rise  circularly,  and  leave  in  the  middle  a  considerable 
space.  A  great  many  Greeks  and  Armenians  were  seated  on  the  turf,  in  the 
shade  of  these  trees,  smoking  their  pipes.  Several  Turks  were  in  the  enclosure 
of  the  plane  tree,  smoking  their  pipes  and  drinking  coffee." 

"The  plane  tree  often  presents  at  its  base  a  considerable  expansion  of  a  diam- 
eter double  or  triple  that,  of  the  trunk,  and  which  may  exceed  thirty  feet,  as  we 
have  sometimes  seen,  so  that  it  frequently  happens  when  the  tree  dies  of  age, 
that  it  sends  forth,  all  round  the  stump,  shoots  which  form  so  many  new  trees ; 
this,  no  doubt,  is  what  has  happened  to  the  plane  tree  of  Buyuk-dere.  We  re- 
marked, indeed,  that  the  seven  or  eight  trunks  of  which  it  is  formed,  appear  to 
have  a  common  origin,  and  that  they  are  all  connected  by  their  base." — Travels  in 
the  Ottoman  Empire,  Egypt,  and  Persia.  By  G.  A.  Olivier,  London,  1801.  Vol. 
I,  pp.  114,  115. 


VII.  THE  BUTTONWOOD  TREE.  229 

little  toughness,  and  usually,  on  the  stem  and  larger  branches, 
flakes  off  in  broad,  irregular  scales,  leaving  portions  of  the  inner 
layers,  of  a  light  yellowish  color,  exposed.  These  bright  patches, 
seen  among  the  green  leaves,  or  on  the  uniform  gray  of  the  stem, 
produce  often  a  striking  effect.  Sometimes  the  upper  part  of 
the  trunk  is  seen  quite  smooth,  but  of  different  colors,  as  there 
is  no  regularity  in  the  period  or  extent  of  the  exfoliation  of  the 
bark.  Sometimes  the  trunk  is  uniform  and  rough,  with  unequal 
roundish  scales,  while  the  limbs  are  smooth  and  mottled. 

"  No  tree,"  says  Gilpin,*  "forms  a  more  pleasing  shade  than 
the  occidental  plane.  It  is  full  leafed,  and  its  leaf  is  large, 
smooth,  of  a  fine  texture,  and  seldom  injured  by  insects.  Its 
lower  branches,  shooting  horizontally,  soon  take  a  direction  to 
the  ground ;  and  the  spray  seems  more  sedulous  than  that  of 
any  tree  we  have,  by  twisting  about  in  various  forms,  to  fill  up 
every  little  vacuity  with  shade.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be 
owned,  the  twisting  of  its  branches  is  a  disadvantage  to  this 
tree,  as  it  is  to  the  beech,  when  it  is  stripped  of  its  leaves  and 
reduced  to  a  skeleton.  It  has  not  the  natural  appearance  which 
the  spray  of  the  oak,  and  that  of  many  other  trees,  discovers  in 
winter.  Nor  indeed  does  its  foliage,  from  the  largeness  of  the 
leaf  and  the  mode  of  its  growth,  make  the  most  picturesque 
appearance  in  summer. 

"  The  oriental  plane  is  a  tree  nearly  of  the  same  kind,  only  its 
leaf  is  more  palmated,  nor  has  it  so  great  a  disposition  to  over- 
shadow the  ground,  as  the  occidental  plane :  at  least  I  never 
saw  any  in  our  climate  form  so  noble  a  shade,  though  in  the 
East  it  is  esteemed  among  the  most  shady,  and  most  magnifi- 
cent of  trees." 

The  recent  shoots  are  overspread  with  a  copious  grayish 
down,  which  they  lose,  in  the  course  of  the  first  season,  except 
about  the  nodes  or  joints,  and  become  of  a  grayish  purple,  or 
chestnut  brown.  The  next  year  they  are  smooth  and  of  a  green- 
ish gray,  thickly  scattered  with  minute  gray  dots.  The  green 
tinge  gradually  fades,  and  they  assume  a  uniform  light  gray  or 
yellowish  color,  almost  white,  as  seen  from  a  distance.     The 

*  Forest  Scenery,  I,  109—10. 


230       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

leaves  are  on  stout  footstalks,  which  are  two  or  three  inches 
long,  very  downy  and  grayish  green  at  first,  but  becoming  nearly 
smooth  and  purple.  At  the  base  of  the  leaf,  the  footstalk  sub- 
divides by  throwing  out  two  opposite  ribs,  nearly  as  large  and 
long  as  the  mid-rib,  each  of  which  has  a  large  branch  below, 
dividing  the  leaf  into  five  imperfect  lobes,  and  giving  it  a  pen- 
tagonal outline.  The  ribs  and  veins  are  very  prominent  on  the 
under  surface,  and  each  terminates  in  a  large  tooth.  When 
freshly  expanded,  the  leaves  are  profusely  covered  with  a  cot- 
tony down,  which  gradually  disappears,  and  in  autumn  the 
upper  surface  is  perfectly  smooth,  and  of  a  light  yellowish 
green;  the  under  surface  is  lighter  and  still  covered  with  down 
along  the  prominent  purple  ribs  and  veins.  A  striking  feature 
in  the  appearance  of  the  button  wood  is  formed  by  the  very 
large,  conspicuous,  and  persistent  stipules,  with  which  every 
growing  branch  is  garnished.  These  are  always  leaf-like,  some- 
times distinct,  one  on  each  side  of  the  base  of  each  leafstalk, 
oftener  grown  together,  forming  a  complete  ruffle,  encircling 
and  more  than  encircling  the  branch,  and  embracing  it  with  a 
sort  of  sheath.  When  distinct,  they  are  two  or  three  inches 
long,  an  inch  and  a  half  broad,  pointed,  and,  like  the  leaves, 
conspicuously  toothed.  When  grown  together,  they  look  like 
a  leaf  whose  extreme  point  is  on  the  side  of  the  branch  opposite 
the  leaf  of  which  they  are  an  appendage.  Above  them,  espe- 
cially at  the  base  of  a  branchlet,  is  often  found  an  additional 
pair  of  lance-shaped  stipules,  or  a  single  one,  tw<9  or  three  inches 
long.  Both  these  kinds  of  stipules  are,  on  the  vigorous  shoots, 
particularly  on  the  sprouts  from  the  stole  or  root,  more  lasting 
than  the  leaves,  not  being  pushed  off,  like  them,  by  the  growth 
of  the  buds.  The  leaves  are  usually  five  or  six  inches  long,  and 
seven  or  eight  broad,  but  they  are  often  much  larger.  Before 
falling,  they  turn  usually  to  a  pale  yellow. 

The  buds  are  short,  broad,  pyramidal,  rounded  at  the  tip,  and 
of  a  chestnut  brown,  when  they  have  been  a  little  while  exposed. 
They  are  enveloped  by  several  gummy  scales,  and,  in  their 
early  stage,  enclosed  in  the  footstalk  of  the  leaf,  which  is  there- 
fore necessarily  deciduous.  Each  bud  and  the  base  of  each 
branchlet  is  accordingly  surrounded  by  the  scar  of  a  fallen  leaf, 


VII.  THE  BUTTONWOOD  TREE.  231 

and  the  branchlet  is  encircled  at  that  point  by  a  ridge  formed  by 
the  scar  of  the  pair  of  stipules ;  whence  the  smaller  branches 
have  a  jointed  appearance. 

The  female  catkins  are  a  globular  ball,  five  eighths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  at  the  end  of  a  flexible,  'downy  footstalk, 
which  is  from  two  to  five  inches  long,  and  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter.  The  styles  are  in  twos — or,  if  double,  cleft 
to  the  base,  completely  investing  the  ball,  close-set,  swelling 
and  hairy  at  base,  tapering,  green,  with  a  small,  declined  head, 
and  a  reddish,  glandular  fringe  on  one  edge  as  a  stigma. 

The  young  leaves  are  accompanied  by  a  pair  of  short,  brown- 
ish, sheathing,  scale-like,  deciduous  stipules,  and,  with  their 
footstalks,  are  covered  with  a  thick  cottony  down. 

The  male  catkins  are  on  slender,  tapering,  dusty  threads,  one 
or  two  inches  long.  They  are  one  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter, and  are  invested  by  numberless  stamens,  completely  in 
contact,  each  consisting  of  two  cells,  opening  at  the  sides, 
white,  and  pouring  out  white  pollen,  and  surmounted  by  a 
brownish  green,  glandular  disk,  forming  together  the  surface  of 
the  ball.  The  footstalks  of  the  catkins  have  stipules  at  base, 
like  those  of  the  leaves,  but  smaller ;  those  of  the  female 
often  having  one  or  two  miniature  leaves,  and  a  peculiar  au- 
ricular appendage  towards  the  base,  as  if  they  were  abortive 
branches. 

In  most  parts  of  New  England,  this  tree  is  called  button  wood 
by  the  common  people.  Sycamore  is  a  name  often  given  to  it ; 
and  it  is  sometimes  called  the  plane  tree.  In  England  it  is  called 
the  occidental  plane  to  distinguish  it  from  the  European,  which 
is  called  the  oriental.  There  is  no  propriety  in  calling  it  syca- 
more, as  that  name  indicates  a  totally  different  tree.  Plane  tree 
or  platane  is  classical ;  but  buttonwood  is  the  good,  English, 
descriptive  name  which  belongs  to  it. 

According  to  Michaux,  this  tree  is  found  as  far  north  as 
Montreal,  in  Canada,  where  it  is  called  by  the  French  the  cot- 
ton tree.  Along  the  coast,  I  have  found  it  in  the  county  of 
York,  in  Maine.  Its  range  southward  is  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  in  longitude  from  the  Atlantic,  through  the  extreme 
Western  States.     It  nourishes  best  on  a  deep,  loose,  rich  soil, 


232       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

in  a  cool,  moist  situation  ;  and  it  is  nowhere  more  vigorous  than 
along  the  rivers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  and  especially 
on  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries.  The  elder  Michaux  measured 
a  buttonwood  growing  on  a  little  island  in  the  Ohio,  fifteen 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  and  found  its  girth, 
at  five  feet  from  the  ground,  to  be  forty  feet  four  inches.  Gen- 
eral Washington  had  measured  the  same  tree  twenty  years 
before,  and  found  it  to  be  of  nearly  the  same  size.  In  1802, 
the  younger  Michaux  and  his  companions,  found  a  large  tree 
of  this  kind  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio,  thirty-six  miles 
from  Marietta.  Its  base  was  swollen  in  an  extraordinary  man- 
ner, but,  at  four  feet  from  the  ground,  its  circumference  was 
found  to  be  forty -seven  feet. 

The  buttonwood  is  remarkable  for  the  rapidity  of  its  growth, 
especially  when  standing  near  water.  Loudon  mentions  one 
which,  standing  near  a  pond,  had,  in  twenty  years,  attained 
the  height  of  eighty  feet,  with  a  trunk  eight  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence at  three  feet  from  the  ground,  and  a  head  of  the  diameter 
of  forty-eight  feet.  The  buttonwood  has  been  cultivated  in 
England  more  than  two  hundred  years,  having  been  introduced 
about  1630.  In  1S09,  it  had  become  more  common  than  the 
oriental  plane,  but  in  May  of  that  year  a  severe  frost  is  sup- 
posed to  have  killed  the  young  shoots  of  many  of  the  largest 
trees  of  this  species  throughout  the  Island.  In  Scotland,  where 
trees  of  both  species  were  growing  near  each  other,  the  oriental 
escaped,  while  the  occidental  were  generally  injured.  Many 
died  that  year  or  in  the  summer  of  1810,  after  making  an  in- 
effectual effort  to  push  their  leaves.  According  to  the  observa- 
tion of  Lang,  only  the  large  trees  perished.  But  the  severe 
winter  of  1813 — '14,  destroyed  many  of  those  which  had  es- 
caped in  1809. 

It  seems  very  doubtful,  from  the  account  given  of  this  mal- 
ady, whether  it  is  referred  to  its  true  cause.  Lang  says, 
"  Trees  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  in  height  were  little 
hurt;  and  smaller  ones  not  at  all."  This  looks  very  little  like 
the  action  of  frost. 

The  buttonwoods,  throughout  New  England,  were  affected 
in  a  similar  manner,  but  less  severely,  in  the  springs  of  1842, 


VII.  THE  BUTTONWOOD  TREE.  233 

'43  and  '44.  The  shoots  seemed  to  have  been  nipped  as  by  a 
frost.  The  large  trees  were  particularly  affected,  but  by  no 
means  exclusively.  For  some  weeks,  in  each  of  these  springs, 
many  of  the  trees  seemed  to  have  been  killed.  In  the  course  of 
the  summers,  most  of  them  have  pushed  forth  leaves  on  the 
sides  of  the  branches,  and  have  seemed  partially  recovering. 
The  extremities  of  the  branches,  on  almost  all  the  buttonwoods, 
are  dead,  and  many  of  the  trees  are  now,  in  the  fall  of  1845, 
completely  so. 

This  malady  has  been  attributed  to  various  causes.  By  most 
persons,  it  is  considered  the  effect  of  frost.  Others  ascribe  it  to 
the  action  of  some  insect  or  worm ;  and  others  believe  it  to  be 
some  unaccountable  disease. 

It  seems  to  me  most  probable  that  it  is  owing  to  the  tree's  not 
maturing  its  wood  during  the  previous  summer,  so  that  it  is 
incapable  of  resisting  the  cold  of  winter.  The  present  season, 
of  1845,  has  been  a  remarkably  warm  one,  and  this  year,  if 
ever,  the  buttonwood  must  have  had  time  to  mature  its  wood. 
If  the  wood  formed  during  the  present  season  should  not  be 
affected  by  the  cold  of  the  spring  of  1846,  some  confirmation 
will  be  given  to  this  conjecture. 

Very  little  use  in  the  arts  is  made  of  the  wood  of  the  plane 
tree.  It  is  very  perishable  when  exposed  to  the  weather ;  it  is 
said  to  warp  considerably,  and  in  every  valuable  property  is 
thought  to  be  surpassed  by  other  kinds  of  timber  equally  abund- 
ant and  accessible.  For  some  purposes  of  ornament,  however,  it 
would  seem  to  present  claims  to  attention.  The  roots,  accord- 
ing to  Michaux,  have  a  beautifully  red  color,  when  taken  from 
the  earth,  but  lose  it  on  exposure  to  the  light.  Means  might 
doubtless  be  found  to  make  this  color  permanent.  The  wood  of 
the  stem  is  hard,  of  a  firm  and  close  texture,  of  an  agreeable, 
faint  red  color,  and  beautifully  varied  by  close  lines  of  silver 
grain.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  as  valuable 
as  that  of  the  oriental  plane,  and  that  the  great  excellence  and 
variety  of  our  timber  trees  have  alone  prevented  the  necessity 
of  its  use. 

S.  W.  Pomeroy,  Esq.,  in  an  article  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
New  England  Farmer,  urges  the  cultivation  of  the  buttonwood. 
31 


234       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

He  says  it  may  be  propagated  with  more  ease  than  any  tree  of 
the  forest,  and  the  speedy  returns  of  fuel  it  will  make,  lead  him 
to  believe  that  its  cultivation  would  become  general,  if  its  value 
were  duly  appreciated.  The  wood  of  buttonwood  trees  grown 
in  moist  situations  burns  very  ill  when  green,  but  when  it 
grows  on  dry,  sandy  or  rocky  soils,  it  burns  as  freely,  when 
green,  as  oak  cut  at  the  same  time.  It  is  not,  he  thinks,  equal 
to  the  best  kinds  of  fuel,  but  it  is  superior  to  chestnut,  and  makes 
excellent  charcoal.  "It  is  a  very  valuable  fuel  for  stoves. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  ranked  with  the  best  kinds  of  soft  maple." 
If  the  question  is,  what  kind  of  tree,  on  land  of  the  same  fertility, 
will  furnish  fuel  which  will  give  the  greatest  amount  of  caloric, 
he  says,  "  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare  my  perfect  conviction, 
that  it,  (the  buttonwood,)  will  furnish  results  much  more  favor- 
able than  any  tree  our  country  produces,  except  the  locust  on 
dry  soils." 

There  are  many  remarkable  trees  of  this  kind  in  various 
parts  of  the  State.  In  1839,  I  measured  two  in  front  of  the 
house  of  Elijah  Bascom,  Jr.,  in  Hanover.  The  first  was  thir- 
teen feet  five  inches  in  girth  at  the  ground,  and  ten  feet  two 
and  a  half  inches  at  four  and  a  half  feet,  with  many  large, 
spreading  branches,  forming  a  broad  top  and  an  ample  shade. 
The  other  was  twelve  feet  and  two  inches  in  girth  at  the  ground, 
and  ten  feet  three  inches  at  four  and  a  half  feet,  with  branches 
larger  but  less  spreading.  In  Rochester,  one  by  the  road-side 
was  eleven  feet  in  circumference  at  four  feet  from  the  ground. 
One  in  Roxbury,  in  a  lot  of  J.  Davis,  nearly  opposite  the  house 
of  E.  Francis,  Esq.,  measured,  in  1837,  fifteen  feet  six  inches 
at  five  and  a  half  feet  from  the  surface.  An  old  hollow  tree 
near  the  little  bridge  over  the  south  branch  of  the  Nashua,  in 
Lancaster,  bending  over  the  water,  was,  in  1840,  sixteen  feet 
ten  inches  at  the  ground,  fifteen  feet  nine  inches  at  three,  and 
fourteen  feet  nine  inches  at  six  feet.  A  second  near  it  and  vig- 
orous, was,  at  the  same  heights  respectively,  sixteen  feet  eleven 
inches,  thirteen  feet  six  inches,  and  thirteen  feet  four  inches.  A 
third,  an  opening  at  the  foot  of  which  showed  that  it  was  exten- 
sively decayed  at  the  centre,  was  twenty-three  feet  two  inches 
at  the  ground,  eighteen  feet  six  inches  at  three  feet,  and  eighteen 


VII.  THE  BUTTONWOOD  TREE.  235 

feet  two  inches  at  six,  just  above  a  small  branch.  This  is  a 
magnificent  tree,  holding  its  size  for  twenty  feet,  and,  though 
inclining  towards  the  northeast,  sustaining  a  broad,  cylindrical 
and  noble  head  of  great  height.  At  West  Springfield,  I  meas- 
ured, in  1S38,  one  by  the  road-side,  which  I  found  to  be  sixteen 
feet  six  inches  at  four  feet  from  the  ground. 

The  oriental  plane  tree  holds  the  same  place  on  the  Eastern 
continent  which  our  buttonwood  does  on  this.  It  differs  from 
the  occidental,  as  has  been  already  said,  in  having  a  more  pal- 
mate leaf  and  a  less  umbrageous  head.  Yet  it  was  the  greatest 
favorite  among  the  ancients.  Cimon  sought  to  gratify  the  Athe- 
nians by  planting  a  public  walk  with  it.  It  was  considered  the 
finest  shade  tree  of  Europe. 

Pliny  expresses  his  admiration  that  a  tree  valuable  only  for 
its  shade  should  have  been  introduced  from  a  distant  part  of  the 
world.  He  tells  the  story  of  its  having  been  brought  across 
the  Ionian  Sea  to  shade  the  tomb  of  Diomedes,  in  the  island  of 
the  hero,  that  it  came  thence  into  fertile  Sicily,  and  was  among 
the  first  of  foreign  trees  presented  to  Italy,  and  that  too,  as  early 
as  the  taking  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls.  From  Italy  it  was  carried 
into  Spain,  and  even  into  the  most  remote  parts  of  then  barba- 
rous France,  where  the  natives  were  made  to  pay  for  the  privi- 
lege of  sitting  under  its  shade.*  No  tree  was  ever  so  great  a 
favorite  with  the  Romans.  They  ornamented  their  villas  with 
it,  valuing  it  above  all  other  trees  for  the  depth  of  its  salutary 
shade  in  summer,  and  the  freedom  with  which  it  let  in  the 
winter's  sun.  They  nourished  it  with  pure  wine  ;f  and  Hor- 
tensius  is  related  to  have  begged  of  his  rival,  Cicero,  to  ex- 
change turns  with  him  in  a  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged, 

*  Sed  quis  non  jure  miretur,  arborem  umbras  gratia  tantum  ex  alieno  petitam 
orbe?  Platanus  hoec  est,  mare  Ionium  in  Diomedis  insulam  ejusdem  tumuli  gra- 
tia primum  invecta,  &c. — Plinii  Sec.  Nat.  Hist.,  XII,  3. 

f  Martial  wrote  an  epigram  to  Caesar's  plane  at  Tartessus,  on  the  Boetis,  the 
jewel  of  his  palace  : 

JEdibus  in  mediis  totas  amplexa  Penates 
Stat  platanus  : 

To  its  other  honors  he  adds — 

Crevit  et  effuso  latior  umbra  mero. — Epig.,  IX,  62. 


236       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

that  he  might  himself  do  this  office  for  a  tree  he  had  planted  in 
his  Tusculanum.* 

Pliny  describes  some  of  the  most  remarkable  planes.  In  the 
walks  of  the  Academy  at  Athens,  were  trees  whose  trunk  was 
thirty-three  cubits,  (about  forty-eight  feet,)  to  the  branches,  f 
In  his  own  time,  there  was  one  in  Lycia,  near  a  cool  fountain 
by  the  road-side,  with  a  cavity  of  eighty-one  feet  circuit  within 
its  trunk,  a  forest-like  head,  and  arms  like  trees  overshadowing 
broad  fields.  Within  this  apartment,  made  by  moss-covered 
stones  to  resemble  a  grotto,  Licinius  Mucianus  thought  it  a  fact 
worthy  of  history,  that  he  dined  with  nineteen  companions,  and 
slept  there  too,  not  regretting  splendid  marbles,  pictures  and 
golden  fretted  roofs,  and  missing  only  the  sound  of  rain  drops 
pattering  on  the  leaves. 

In  more  modern  times,  the  Persians  have  shown  an  equal 
partiality  to  the  plane  tree,  which  they  call  the  chinar.  Av- 
enues and  rows  of  this  tree  intersect  their  gardens ;  beneath 
them  they  love  to  enjoy  the  cool  breeze,  and  here  they  worship ; 
and  they  or  travellers  among  them  ascribe  the  virtue  of  protec- 
tion from  the  plague  to  great  numbers  of  these  noble  trees  plant- 
ed near  their  dwellings  at  Ispahan. J 

In  the  Levant,  in  Persia,  and  in  other  parts  of  Asia,  where 
timber  trees  are  few,  and  where  the  oriental  plane  is  the  com- 
monest of  trees,  it  is  much  used  in  carpentry,  joinery,  cabinet- 
making,  and  even  in  ship-building.  Olivier  says,§  "The  plane 
tree  grows  naturally  throughout  all  the  East ;  it  is  common  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivulets  in  Greece,  in  the  islands  of  the  Archi- 
pelago, on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  in  Syria,  and  in  Persia." 
"  Its  wood  is  not  inferior  for  cabinet-work  to  any  wood  of 
Europe ;  it  takes  a  beautiful  polish,  and  is  very  agreeably 
veined;'1  and  "the  Persians  employ  no  other  for  their  fur- 
niture, their  doors  and  their  windows."  That  it  has  a  beau- 
tiful surface  and  a  very  smooth  grain,  and  that  it  takes  a  bril- 

*  Macrobius  Saturn  :  II,  9. 

t  So  I  understand, — "cubitorum  xxxiii,  a  radice   ramos  antecedente." — Nat. 
Hist.,  XII,  5.     The  annotator  thinks  otherwise. 
$  Evelyn. 
§  Olivier's  Travels,  I,  116. 


VII.  THE  BUTTONWOOD  TREE.  237 

liant  polish,  is  seen  in  the  famous  Scotch  snuff-boxes,  which 
are  made  of  it. 

Mr.  Nuttall  has  described*  a  remarkably  distinct  species  of 
plane  tree,  which  he  calls  the  California  buttonwood,  Platanus 
racemosus.  The  leaves  are  "  divided  more  than  half  way  down 
into  five,  sharp-pointed,  lanceolate  portions,  of  which  the  two 
lower  are  the  smallest ;  all  the  divisions  are  quite  entire,  two  of 
them  in  small  leaves  are  suppressed,  thus  producing  a  leaf  of 
only  three  parts.  Above,  as  usual,  the  surface  is  at  first  clad 
with  a  yellowish,  copious  down,  formed  of  ramified  hairs, 
which  quickly  falls  off  and  spreads  itself  in  the  atmosphere. 
The  under  surface  of  the  leaves  is,  however,  always  copiously 
clad  with  a  coat  of  whitish  wool,  which  remains.  The  young 
leaves,  clad  in  their  brown,  pilose  clothing,  have  a  very  uncom- 
mon appearance,  and  feel  exactly  like  a  piece  of  stout,  thick, 
woollen  cloth.  The  branchlets,  petioles  and  peduncles  are 
equally  villous.  The  male  catkins  are  small,  less  in  size  than 
peas,  full  of  long  haired  scales,  and  with  unusually  small  an- 
thers. The  female  catkins  are  in  racemes  of  three  to  five  in 
number,  with  remarkably  long  styles,  being  between  two  and 
three  tenths  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  persistent  on  the  ripe 
balls.  The  raceme  with  the  full  grown  balls  measures  nine 
inches.  The  tree  has,  therefore,  a  very  unusual  appearance, 
filled  with  these  very  long,  pendulous  racemes,  each  bearing 
from  three  to  four,  or  even  five  balls,  at  the  distance  of  about 
an  inch  from  each  other.  The  stigmas  are  at  first  of  a  deep 
and  bright  brown."  Mr.  Nuttall  supposes  the  wood  to  be  su- 
perior to  that  of  the  common  species,  harder,  more  durable,  and 
less  liable  to  warp. 

The  leaves  and  fruit  of  this  tree  are  figured  in  Nuttall's 
Supplement  to  the  North  American  Sylva,  I,  Plate  15,  and  in 
Audubon's  Birds  of  America,  Plate  362. 

The  plane  tree  may  be  propagated  by  seed,  by  layers  or  by 
cuttings.  The  best  and  surest  way  is  by  seed.  These  are 
ripe,  in  our  climate,  in  October  or  November.  They  may  be 
readily  separated  from  the  globular  aments,  by  beating  or  by 

*  Nuttall's  Supplement  to  the  N.  A.  Sylva,  I,  47—48. 


238       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  hand.  By  rubbing  they  are  then  made  clear  of  the  wool. 
Mr.  Cobbett,  who  raised  many  plants  from  seed,  soaked  it  in 
lukewarm  water  for  forty-eight  hours.  He  then  mixed  it  with 
finely  sifted  earth,  ten  gallons  of  earth  to  one  of  seed ;  put  the 
mixture  upon  the  smooth,  bare  ground;  "turned  and  remixed 
the  heap  every  day  for  four  or  five  days,  keeping  it  covered 
with  a  mat  whenever  the  turning  and  mixing  were  not  going 
on  ;  and  as  soon  as  a  root  began  to  appear  here  and  there,  sow- 
ed the  seeds  upon  a  bed  of  sifted  earth,  mixed  with  the  sifted 
mould,  just  as  they  came  out  of  the  heap."  No  other  covering 
was  given  ;  they  were  carefully  watered  and  kept  shaded,  and  in 
about  a  week  germinated  and  showed  their  seed-leaves.  This 
was  in  April.  The  plants  were  gradually  inured  to  the  sun- 
shine, and  in  October  their  wood  was  ripe.  In  the  succeeding 
summer  they  were  fit  to  transplant  into  nursery  lines. * 

General  H.  A.  S.  Dearborn,  so  well  known  for  the  skill  and 
success  with  which  he  has  cultivated  forest  trees,  gives,  in  the 
New  England  Farmer,  Vol.  V,  p.  193,  valuable  directions  for 
raising  buttonwoods.  He  says  the  balls  should  not  be  gathered 
before  the  fall  of  the  leaves,  or,  still  better,  not  till  March.  He 
sowed  the  seeds  in  the  spring,  broad-cast,  very  thick,  in  a  rich 
seed-bed  of  fine,  light,  carefully  prepared  mould.  They  were 
raked  in  and  covered,  and  the  ground  was  left  smooth  and 
level.  When  the  plants  first  appear,  they  are  very  tender,  and 
must  therefore  be  screened  from  the  heat  of  the  sun  for  several 
months,  by  mats  or  by  brush-wood  thrown  over  poles  resting 
on  crotched  stakes,  two  or  three  feet  from  the  ground.  He  has 
usually  transplanted  them,  when  a  year  old,  into  a  nursery, 
placing  them  a  foot  apart,  in  rows  three  feet  asunder.  "The 
seed-bed  should  be  kept  clear  of  weeds,  and  the  ground  in  the 
nursery  between  the  rows,  dug  over  every  spring,  and  often 
hoed  and  raked."  When  three  or  four  years  old,  the  plants 
may  be  removed,  and  set  wherever  they  are  wanted  for  shade, 
ornament,  or  fuel. 

*  Woodlands,  as  quoted  by  Loudon. 


VIII.  THE  WILLOW  FAMILY.  239 


FAMILY  VIII.    THE  WILLOW  FAMILY.    SALICINEM. 

Endlicher. 

The  willows  and  poplars  form  an  eminently  natural  family, 
of  striking  properties  and  extensive  and  important  uses.     They 
are  lofty  or  spreading  trees,  or  low,   slender  shrubs,  occupying 
the  cooler  parts  of  both  hemispheres.     One  of  the  willows,  Sa- 
lix  arctica,  is  found  farther  north  than  any  other  woody  plant ; 
and  they  extend  southward  into  Africa,  a  single  species  being 
found  in  Senegal.     This  family  has   always  been  one  of  the 
most  important  to  mankind.     Several  species  are  valuable  for 
their  wood,  and  as  affording  materials  for  many  of  the  arts ; 
and  the  bark  of  all  has  important  astringent  and  tonic  proper- 
ties.    The  bark  of  the  common  poplar,  the  round-leafed  aspen, 
has  been  used  in  this  country  as  a  febrifuge ;  and  from  that  of 
several  species  of  willow,  Salix  Russellia?ia,  Helix,  and  others, 
most  of  which  are    naturalized   in  this  country,   a  substance 
called  salicine  has  been  extracted,  possessing  the  best  virtues  of 
the  extract  from  Peruvian  bark.     The  buds  of  the  balsam  pop- 
lar, or  Balm  of  Gilead,  have  reputation  as  a  vulnerary.     They 
yield  a  resinous  substance  which  is  collected  in  shells,  and  im- 
ported for  medicinal  purposes,  into  Europe,  from  Canada.     A 
similar  substance,  resembling  storax,  and  said  to  possess  diu- 
retic and  antiscorbutic  properties,  is  yielded  in  less  quantity  by 
the  fragrant  buds  of  the  white  and  tremulous  poplars  of  Europe. 
The  bark  of  the  willow  contains,  according  to  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy,  as  much  of  the  tanning  principle  as  that  of  the  oak  ;  and 
the  leaves  of  one  species  are  used  in  Iceland  for  tanning  leather  ; 
and  the  bark  of  another,  in  Sweden,  Switzerland,  and  Scotland, 
for  tanning,  and  for  dyeing  black.     The  twigs,  the  young  trees, 
the  wood,  and  the  outer  and  the  inner  bark,  have  been  used,  in 
all  periods,  for  the  greatest  variety  of  purposes  ;  for  cords,  ropes, 
baskets  and  hurdles,  as  material  for  cloth,  for  the  food  of  domes- 
tic animals,  and  even  of  man.     For  in  Kamtschatka,  the  inner 
bark  is  sometimes  made  into  bread ;  and  the  leaves  of  the  goat's 
willow,  Salix  caprea,  are  considered  in  France,  at  the  present 


240       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

day,  as  they  were  anciently  in  Italy,  the  best  food  for  cows, 
goats  and  horses. 

Both  willows  and  poplars  are  remarkable  for  the  size  and 
length  of  their  roots,  for  their  fondness  for  water,  and  for  their 
tenacity  of  life.  All  the  species  of  both  genera  are  easily  propa- 
gated by  cuttings  ;  and  most  of  them,  planted  by  river  sides,  serve, 
like  the  alders,  to  protect  the  banks  from  being  worn  away  by 
the  action  of  the  stream  ;  and,  from  the  rapidity  of  growth,  and 
the  hardiness  of  many  of  the  species,  they  are  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  act  as  nurses  to  more  tender  trees  in  exposed  situations. 

The  family  is  distinguished  by  the  following  characters  : — The 
sterile  and  fertile  flowers  are  on  distinct  plants.  Both  are  dis- 
posed in  many-flowered  aments,  each  flower  being  supported 
by  a  bracteal  scale.  The  ovaries  are  solitary  and  one-celled, 
with  many  ovules.  The  stigmas  are  two.  The  fruit  is  a  one- 
celled,  many-seeded  capsule,  opening  with  two  valves.  The 
seeds  are  very  minute,  erect,  attached  to  the  inner  surface  of 
the  valves,  and  circled  by  a  tuft  of  very  long,  cottony  down. 
The  leaves  are  alternate. 

The  genera  are  two,  the  Poplar,  and  the  Willow.  They  are 
distinguished  by  the  general  appearance  of  their  leaves,  which, 
in  the  poplar,  are  roundish  or  triangular  in  outline ;  in  the  wil- 
low, usually  long  and  narrow ;  and  by  the  number  of  stamens, 
which  are  from  two  to  seven  in  the  willow,  and  from  eight  to 
thirty  or  more  in  the  poplar,  and  set  in  a  little  cup  protected  by 
a  jagged  scale. 

VIII.  1.     THE  POPLAR.     POPULUS.     L. 

The  poplars  are  large  trees,  with  alternate  leaves,  and,  while 
young,  a  smooth,  leather-like  bark.  The  buds  are  more  or  less 
invested  with  a  fragrant,  viscid  balsam.  The  leaves  are  large, 
roundish  or  triangular  in  outline,  and  set  upon  a  long  footstalk, 
which  is  laterally  compressed  towards  the  leaf,  whence  the 
leaves  have  their  characteristic,  tremulous  motion  when  agitated 
by  the  wind.  The  footstalks  are  often  set  with  glands.  The 
flowers  come  out  before  the  leaves,  from  scaly  buds.  They 
are  disposed  in  cylindrical  aments,  and  composed  each  of  a 
scale  deeply  cut  or  torn  at  the  edge.     Beneath  each  scale  in  the 


VIII.     1.  THE  POPLAR.  241 

sterile  ament  is  an  oblique,  cup-shaped  scale,  containing  from 
eight  to  thirty  or  more  short  stamens.  The  similar  scale  in  the 
fertile  flower  contains  a  single  ovary,  crowned  with  two  bifid 
stigmas.  The  matured  ovary  becomes  a  capsule,  which  opens 
with  two  valves,  disclosing  the  numerous  minute  seeds  cinct- 
ured with  a  silken  or  cottony  crown.  The  sterile  aments,  mak- 
ing their  appearance  before  the  leaves,  and  when  few  flowers 
are  to  be  seen,  are  striking  objects  from  their  size,  and  the  rich 
red  color  of  their  very  numerous  stamens. 

The  trees  of  this  genus  are  all  of  very  rapid  growth,  espe- 
cially in  moist  situations,  by  the  sides  of  running  streams ;  and 
they  are  remarkable  for  the  readiness  with  which  they  may  be 
propagated  by  cuttings  or  layers.  They  also  grow  readily 
amidst  the  dust  and  smoke  of  close  and  crowded  towns.  They 
may  thus  be  planted  by  persons  totally  unacquainted  with  ar- 
boriculture, and,  in  situations  where  no  other  tree  will  flourish, 
will,  in  a  surprisingly  short  time,  exhibit  a  pleasant  object,  and 
exclude  disagreeable  ones.  Evelyn  calls  the  poplars  "hospita- 
ble trees,  for  any  thing  thrives  under  their  shade." 

The  wood  was  used  by  the  ancients  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing bucklers,  as  it  is  very  light  and  somewhat  tough,  and  thence 
it  is  not  broken,  pierced  or  splintered  by  a  blow,  but  only  in- 
dented. "  The  wood  of  the  poplar  is  soft,  light,  and  generally 
white  or  of  a  pale  yellow.  It  is  of  but  little  use  in  the  arts, 
except  in  some  departments  of  cabinet  and  toy-making,  and 
for  boarded  floors;  for  which  last  purpose  it  is  well  adapted, 
from  its  whiteness,  and  the  facility  with  which  it  is  scoured ; 
and  also  from  the  difficulty  with  which  it  catches  fire,  and  the 
slowness  with  which  it  burns.  In  these  respects,  it  is  the  very 
reverse  of  pine.  Poplar,  like  other  soft  woods,  is  generally 
considered  not  durable ;  but  this  is  only  the  case  when  it  is  ex- 
posed to  the  external  atmosphere,  or  to  water ;  and  hence  the 
old  distich,  said  to  be  inscribed  on  a  poplar  plank, — 

'  Though  heart  of  oak  be  e'er  so  stout, 
Keep  me  dry,  and  I'll  see  hirn  out,' 

may  be  considered  as  strictly  correct."* 

*  Loudon,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1637. 

QO 


242        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Insects  on  the  Poplars. — The  large,  pea-green,  stinging  cater- 
pillars of  the  moth  called  Saturnia  Io,  feed  on  the  leaves  of  the 
balsam  poplars,  as  well  as  on  those  of  the  elm,  the  cornel  and 
the  sassafras.  (Harris,  p.  283.)  The  caterpillar  of  the  Centra 
borealls,  remarkable  for  his  odd  appearance  and  horned  tail,  and 
thence  called  the  horn-tailed  caterpillar,  also  feeds  on  the  sev- 
eral species  of  poplar.  The  caterpillars  of  the  Antiopa  butterfly 
are  found  in  great  numbers  on  the  poplars,  the  willows  and  the 
elm,  and  commit  great  ravages  on  their  leaves,  (ib.  p.  219 — and 
305.)  So  do  the  spinning  caterpillars  of  the  Closiera  Ameri- 
cana, (ib.  p.  313),  and  the  caterpillars  of  the  herald-moth. 
Still  more  serious  injury  is  done  by  the  boring  grubs  of  the 
beetle  called  Saperda  calcarata,  and  those  of  the  Prionus  lati- 
collis.  The  former  live  in  the  trunks,  the  latter  in  the  trunks 
and  roots  of  the  various  kinds  of  poplar,  native  and  foreign. 
(Ib.  pp.  80  and  88.) 

Four  species  of  poplar  are  native  to  Massachusetts,  the  Large 
Poplar,  the  American  Aspen,  the  Balm  of  Gilead,  and  the  River 
or  Smooth-leaved  Poplar.  Two  other  species  have  been  exten- 
sively introduced,  the  Lombardy  Poplar,  and  the  White  Poplar. 

Sp.  1.    The  Large  Poplar.    Populus  grandidentala.    Michaux. 
The  leaf  and  fertile  ament  figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  99,  fig.  2. 

This  is  a  tall,  erect  tree,  covered  with  a  smooth  bark  of  a 
soft,  light,  greenish  gray  color.  The  branches  are  small,  and, 
although  they  go  out  at  a  large  angle,  rarely  form  a  broad 
head.  The  bark  on  the  young  branches  is  dark,  but  soon  takes 
the  uniform,  leather-like  appearance  of  the  trunk.  It  is  re- 
markably smooth,  but  in  very  old  trunks  cracks  a  little. 

The  leaves,  which  are  often  in  tufts  at  the  ends  of  the  branch- 
lets,  are  roundish,  with  from  five  to  nine,  large,  blunt  teeth  on 
each  side,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  and  paler  beneath.  The  foot- 
stalk is  slender,  compressed  laterally,  two  thirds  as  long  as  the 
leaf.     The  buds  are  conical. 

This  tree  is  found  abundantly  growing  in  the  forests  in  the 
western  and  northern  parts  of  the  State,  in  which  situation  it 
rises  to  the  height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet,  with  a  diameter  of 
from  sixteen  to  twenty-four  inches,  and  forms  a  small,  roundish 


VIII.     1.     THE  AMERICAN  ASPEN  POPLAR.  243 

head  at  the  general  level  of  the  tops  of  the  trees.  When  grow- 
ing on  the  edge  of  a  wood  or  lake,  or  by  itself,  it  is  commonly 
forty  or  fifty  feet  high,  with  an  open  and  rather  graceful  head, 
forming  a  beautiful  object  from  the  soft  green  of  the  trunk, 
the  lightness  of  the  branches,  and  the  mobility  of  the  foliage. 
The  wood  is  soft  and  light  and  of  no  great  value. 

When,  in  the  time  of  our  grandmothers,  fashion  required  that 
a  lady  should  seem  somewhat  taller  than  nature  made  her,  the 
light  wood  of  this  poplar  was  in  demand,  as  best  adapted  for 
the  substance  of  the  high  heel  of  their  shoes,  and  the  manufac- 
ture constituted  a  distinct  trade.  The  more  substantial  heel  of 
the  shoes  of  the  lower  people  was  made  of  more  durable  and 
heavier  maple.  The  wood  was  also  extensively  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  hats,  before  the  palm-leaf  was  introduced. 

When  dry,  it  is  considered  equal  to  pine  as  fuel.  This  poplar 
is  found  from  New  Brunswick  and  the  borders  of  Lake  Huron, 
through  the  New  England  and  Middle  States,  to  the  mountains 
of  Georgia. 

Sp.  2.     The  American  Aspen.     P.  ircmuliformis.* 

Michaux. 

A  leaf  and  sterile  ament  are  figured  by  Michaux,  Sylva,  IT,  Plate  99,  fig.  1. 

This  is  a  small,  graceful  tree,  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  high, 
with  a  gradually  tapering  trunk,  and  small  branches  moder- 
ately spreading.  The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  white  clay- 
colored  bark,  with  long  blotches  of  very  dark  brown,  particu- 
larly below  each  branch,  in  a  triangular  space,  from  the  upper 
angle  of  which  the  branch  issues. 

The  recent  shoots  are  of  a  dark,  polished  bronze  green,  which 
is  gradually  changed,  by  the  influence  of  light,  on  the  larger 
branches,  to  the  clay  color  for  which  the  trunk  is  remarkable. 
The  branches  are,  therefore,  darker  colored  beneath.  The  leafy 
branchlets  are  short,  and  go  off  at  a  large  angle. 

*  The  word  tremuloides,  as  Mr.  E.  Tuckerman  has  remarked,  is  a  barbarous  com- 
pound of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  ought  not  to  be  retained.  Tremuliformis  is  the 
word  which  Michaux  should  have  used,  as  he  meant  to  express  the  resemblance 
which  our  aspen  has  to  the  P.  tremula. 


244         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  leaves  are  round  in  their  outline,  about  two  inches  long 
and  of  equal  breadth,  somewhat  heart-shaped  at  base,  abruptly 
acuminate,  with  a  wavy,  toothed  border,  covered  with  soft  silk 
when  young,  which  remains  only  as  a  fringe  on  the  edge  at 
maturity ;  supported  by  a  very  slender  footstalk  about  as  long- 
as  the  leaf,  and  compressed  laterally  from  near  the  base.  They 
are  thus  agitated  by  the  slightest  breath  of  wind,  with  that 
quivering,  restless  motion,  characteristic  of  all  the  poplars,  but 
in  none  so  striking  as  this.  In  this  respect,  it  bears  a  near  re- 
semblance to  the  European  tree,  after  which  it  is  named,  and 
which  has  given  occasion  to  so  many  poetical  and  satirical  allu- 
sions ;  whose  leaves  Gerard  compares  to  women's  tongues, 
"which  seldom  cease  wagging;"  and  Homer,  to  give  us  an 
idea  of  the  activity  of  Penelope's  maidens  at  the  loom,  says, — 

"  Their  busy  ringers  move 
Like  poplar  leaves  when  zephyr  fans  the  grove  ;  " 

and,  best  of  all,  Walter  Scott,  in  his  lines, — 

"  Oh,  woman  !  in  our  hours  of  ease 
Uncertain,  coy,  and  hard  to  please, 
And  variable  as  the  shade 
By  the  light  quivering  aspen  made, 
When  pain  er- sickness  rends- the  brow,/>'/' 
A  ministering  angel  thou." 

The  foliage  appears  lighter  than  that  of  most  other  trees,  from 
continually  displaying  the  under  surface  of  the  leaves.  The 
stipules  are  small,  lanceolate,  silky,  transient.  On  the  sprouts 
which  spring  from  the  roots  of  this  poplar,  the  leaves  are  often 
many  times  larger  than  those  of  the  tree,  and  so  differently 
shaped,  as  to  lead  one  not  familiar  with  them  to  think  he  has 
found  a  new  species.  1  believe  the  same  thing  is  true  of  several 
other  species  of  poplar. 

The  wood  is  soft,  white,  fine-grained,  light,  and  very  perish- 
able when  exposed  to  the  weather.  It  is  deficient  in  strength, 
and  is  not  much  used,  but  might  serve  well  for  floors,  as  it  has 
a  good  color,  and  is  not  liable  to  splinter  when  bruised. 

The  bark  is  excessively  bitter,  with  a  taste  precisely  like 
quinine,  to  which  it  has  an  intimate  resemblance  in  its  properties. 

This  tree  is  found  in  Canada,  as  far  north  as  64°,  and  thence 


VIII.     1.  THE  BALM  OF  GILEAD.  245 

southward,  somewhat  abundantly,  through  the  New  England 
States,  and  as  far  as  West  Chester  County,  in  Pennsylvania. 

Sp.  3.     The  Balm  of  Gilead.     P.  cdndicans.     Aiton. 

Leaf  figured  by  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  98  ;  and  by  Audubon,  Birds,  I, 

Plate  79. 

A  handsome  tree,  attaining  sometimes  the  height  of  sixty  or 
seventy  feet,  and  usually,  when  full  grown,  fifty  or  sixty,  even 
on  the  poorest  soils.  It  grows  readily  and  rapidly  every  where, 
and  makes  a  tolerably  sized  tree  sooner  and  more  surely  than 
almost  any  other.  It  has  hence  been  planted  and  is  still  found 
growing,  as  an  ornamental  tree,  in  many  situations  where  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  make  the  other  forest  trees  grow.  The  recent 
shoots  are  stout  and  large,  of  a  deep  green,  with  long  gray  dots, 
smooth  and  uniform  above,  ridged  with  strong  ridges  below  the 
leaves,  and  striate  with  light  green  towards  the  base.  The 
small  trunks  and  branches  are  of  a  dark  grayish  green,  of  the 
shade  called  French  green,  with  occasional  blotches  of  a  darker 
color;  the  stalk,  on  old  trees,  rough,  with  long,  narrow  clefts, 
and  often  ridged  with  large,  projecting  ridges  above  the  prin- 
cipal roots.  In  moist  situations,  yellow  and  red  lichens  and 
green  mosses  fill  the  cavities  and  invest  the  bark  of  the  trunk. 

The  leaves  are  very  large,  on  footstalks  less  compressed  than 
in  most  poplars,  and  often  somewhat  hairy  above,  ovate,  round, 
or  somewhat  heart-shaped  at  base,  acuminate,  obtusely  and 
unequally  hooked,  serrate  quite  to  the  footstalk,  somewhat  three- 
nerved,  dark  green,  polished  and  shining  on  the  upper  surface, 
whitish  and  with  the  veins  reticulate  beneath.  Buds  and  sti- 
pules very  gummy.     The  branches  are  not  angled. 

It  throws  its  roots  to  a  very  great  distance  just  beneath,  and 
in  some  instances  far  beneath  the  surface.  In  one  instance,  I 
knew  the  roots  to  pass  beneath  and  throw  up  suckers  on  the 
other  side  of  a  house  forty  feet  wide. 

This  tree  is  desirable  near  habitations,  on  account  of  its  agree- 
able fragrance  in  spring,  but  the  abundant  cotton  of  the  female 
aments.  and  the  appearance  of  the  aments  themselves,  not  unlike 
a  large  caterpillar,  on  the  ground,  constitute  an  objection.     A 


246       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

more  serious  one  is  the  liability  of  the  branches,  or  even  the 
trunk,  when  very  tall,  to  be  broken  by  the  wind.  Its  particular 
office  seems  to  be  to  act  as  a  screen  and  as  a  nurse  to  other 
more  valuable  trees  while  young.  When  this  office  is  perform- 
ed, it  may  be  felled,  but  is  not  easily  eradicated,  on  account  of 
the  extreme  vitality  of  the  roots,  which  continue  for  years  to 
throw  up  suckers. 

In  favorable  situations,  in  a  moist,  rich  soil,  this  tree  attains, 
in  a  comparatively  short  time,  to  a  large  size.  I  have  not  found 
this  tree  growing  naturally  in  Massachusetts  or  elsewhere.  It 
is,  however,  more  frequently  planted  for  shade  and  ornament 
than  any  other  tree  of  the  genus. 

Sp.  4.     The  River  Poplar.     P.  laevigata.     Aiton. 

Leaves  and  a  section  of  a  branch  figured  by  Michaux,  under  the  name  P. 

Canadensis,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  95. 

The  river  poplar  is  a  noble  tree,  rising  often  to  the  height  of 
eighty  feet  or  more,  with  a  fine  long  open  head.  The  trunk  is 
of  a  light  granite  gray  color,  somewhat  rough  in  old  trees,  with 
roundish  ridges,  separated  by  longitudinal  furrows.  The  young 
trees  and  the  large  branches  of  old  trees  are  covered  with  a 
smooth  leather-like  bark.  The  smaller  branches  are  of  a  light 
gray ;  they  are  often  dependent  from  the  lower  limbs.  The 
upper  ones  go  out  at  a  sharp  angle,  and  tend  upwards.  The 
recent,  vigorous  branches  and  shoots  are  of  a  bright  green  color, 
like  the  leaves,  with  scattered,  long,  white,  lenticellar  dots,  and 
strongly  angled  by  three,  brown,  sharp  ridges  running  down  from 
the  base  and  each  side  of  the  leafstalks.  Older  shoots  are  of  a 
grayish  green,  with  the  ridges  longer,  more  prominent,  and  of  a 
darker  color.  The  upper  branches  are  conspicuously  ridged, 
with  the  bark  longitudinally  cleft,  the  ridges  frequently  cracked 
across.     Pith  large,  five-angled. 

The  buds  are  long,  and  taper  to  a  long  sharp  point.  The  leaf- 
stalks are  nearly  as  long  as  the  leaves,  and  gradually  and 
strongly  compressed  towards  the  leaf,  at  the  base  of  which  are 
often  situated  two  or  more  conspicuous  glands.  The  leaves  are 
very  broad  ovate  or  heater-shaped,  nearly  as  wide  as  long,  being 
from  three  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half  inches  wide,  and  from 


VIII.     1.  THE  RIVER  POPLAR.  247 

four  to  five  and  a  half  long,  right-angled,  hollowed  or  heart- 
shaped  at  base,  widening  suddenly  to  their  extreme  width,  and 
gradually  but  roundingly  tapering  to  the  point,  which  is  en- 
tire, and  often  considerably  prolonged,  with  a  slender,  sharp  ter- 
mination ;  margin  undulating,  and  bordered  by  large  prominent 
rounded  serratures,  each  ending  in  a  large  gland  turned  towards 
the  end  of  the  leaf,  and  separated  by  deep  rounded  bays ;  smooth 
and  dark  green  on  both  surfaces;  with  white  mid-rib  and  veins 
which  are  irregular  and  much  branched,  and  equally  prominent 
on  both  surfaces. 

Dr.  Barratt  tells  me  that  when  in  flower,  the  tree  seems  cov- 
ered with  aments  of  a  light  red  color,  becoming  paler  when  ex- 
panded, at  which  time  they  are  from  three  to  five  inches  long. 
This  tree  occurs  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  above  and 
below  Springfield,  on  the  Chicopee,  at  Chicopee  Falls,  and  in 
various  places  on  the  Agawam  or  Westfield  River,  in  situations 
liable  to  be  overflowed  in  spring.  On  the  Connecticut  and  its 
tributaries,  it  is  called  the  river  poplar. 

There  is  a  striking  difference  in  the  appearance  of  those 
branches  which  are  vigorous,  and  those  which  are  not,  the  for- 
mer being  strongly  angled,  the  latter  often  not  perceptibly  so. 

Michaux  thinks  this  tree  the  same  that  is  called  cotton  wood 
by  Cass,  who  accompanied  Lewis  and  Clarke  to  the  Pacific, 
and  by  Pike  in  his  account  of  the  northern  part  of  New  Spain ; 
the  cotton  wood  of  Carolina  being  too  tender  a  plant  to  bear 
the  intense  cold  of  the  regions  in  which  this  tree  was  found 
growing.  The  Mandans,  1500  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  feed  their  horses,  during  the  winter,  on  its  young 
shoots. 

The  river  poplar  deserves  to  be  introduced  into  cultivation  as 
an  ornamental  tree.  It  is  much  the  tallest  and  most  graceful 
of  those  which  grow  naturally  in  New  England.  Its  foliage  is 
equal  to  that  of  the  Balm  of  Gilead  in  size,  and  superior  to  it 
in  depth  of  color;  and  the  abundance  of  its  aments  in  spring, 
and  the  rich  colors  of  its  leafstalks  and  young  branches,  when 
growing  in  somewhat  dry  situations,  make  it  a  beautiful  object. 
By  selecting  cuttings  from  the  sterile  tree,  the  evil  complained 
of  in  the  cotton  of  the  Balm  of  Gilead  will  be  avoided,  and  the 


248        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tree  is  of  equally  rapid  growth,  and  taller  and  more  shapely. 
It  has  been  extensively  introduced  in  England  and  France, 
where  it  is  valued  for  its  beauty  and  for  its  wood.  Loudon  says 
that  the  fine  poplar  avenues  in  the  lower  part  of  the  garden  of 
Versailles,  are  of  this  species.  In  England,  it  is  called  the  Can- 
ada poplar,  in  France,  cotton  wood. 

Dr.  Barratt.  of  Middletown,  Conn.,  has  very  kindly  communi- 
cated some  very  interesting  and  valuable  observations,  which 
he  has  made  in  reference  to  this  poplar  and  others  of  the  genus, 
together  with  some  striking  conclusions  as  to  climate,  which  he 
has  drawn  from  the  times  of  flowering  of  several  of  the  trees. 
I  give  them  nearly  in  his  own  words. 

The  aments  of  P.  laevigata  are  encased,  during  the  winter 
and  early  spring,  in  buds  with  resinous  scales.  When  the 
aments  begin  to  protrude,  these  scales  expand,  nearly  in  oppo- 
site directions,  and  soon  fall.  This  is  about  April  9th,  and  by 
the  18th,  they  are  in  full  flower.  The  aments  are  first  of  a 
rose  color,  and  in  great  abundance,  especially  on  the  upper  part 
of  the  tree.  This  monarch  of  the  Amentacese  then  presents  a 
noble  and  cheering  sight ;  and  is  in  a  high  degree  ornamental. 
As  soon  as  the  pollen  is  shed,  which  is  in  two  days  from  the 
time  of  the  full  expansion  of  the  flowers,  the  rich  red  pollen 
cells  become  pale  and  shriveled,  and  the  sterile  aments  are  soon 
scattered  in  the  wind.  These  aments  are  from  four  to  five 
inches  long,  and  have  from  seventy  to  one  hundred  stamens 
resting  on  each  turbinate  scale,  and  of  these  scales  or  clusters 
of  stamens,  each  anient  has  sixty  or  eighty.  The  carpels,  or 
mature  ovaries  of  the  fertile  aments,  are  smooth  and  ovate,  and 
become  ripe  about  the  18th  of  June,  jast  two  months  from  the 
expansion  of  the  flowers.  This  fact  is  the  more  remarkable,  as 
it  is  just  twice  the  period  of  the  willows.  When  the  carpels  of 
the  poplar  are  fully  open,  the  cotton  adhering  to  the  seeds  is 
shed,  and  gives  the  appearance  of  finely  carded  cotton,  profuse- 
ly spread  among  the  foliage.  Hence  the  name  cotton  tree,  and 
we  have  thus  this  southern  material  produced  in  Massachusetts 
by  a  forest  tree. 

The  other  poplars  take  nearly  the  same  length  of  time  to 
bring  their  fruit  to  perfection.     In  1839,  which  was  an  aver- 


VIII.     1.  THE  NECKLACE  POPLAR.  249 

age  year,  the  aspen  began  to  flower,  at  Middletown,  April  1st, 
the  large  poplar,  about  the  4th,  and  three  others,  on  the  9th. 

Dr.  Barratt  has  observations  on  the  period  of  flowering  through 
fifteen  degrees  of  north  latitude,  which  give  three  months  as  the 
difference  in  the  time  of  beginning,  or  one  month's  difference 
for  five  degrees  of  latitude,  which  is  equal  to  six  days  for  one 
degree  ;  so  that  spring  goes  northward  at  the  rate  of  one  degree 
in  six  days,  or  ten  miles  a  day.  This  is  the  average  for  fifteen 
degrees,  and  would  give  a  difference  of  five  days  between  Mid- 
dletown and  Boston,  the  difference  of  latitude  being  48'  12". 
The  actual  difference  is  greater,  being  from  six  to  ten  days, 
showing  that  the  advance  of  spring  is  not  uniform  throughout 
every  part  of  the  fifteen  degrees.  The  difference  against  Boston 
is  probably  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  chilling  north-east 
winds  which  prevail  at  that  season  of  the  year. 

Dr.  Barratt's  conclusion  is  not  far  different  from  that  reached 
by  Dr.  Bigelow,*  from  a  comparison  of  the  times  of  flowering  of 
several  common  plants,  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  in  the  spring  of  1817.  Dr.  Bigelow  made  a  differ- 
ence of  two  months  and  a  half  for  a  difference  of  latitude  of  13° 
45/,  which  would  be  three  months  for  16°  30/.  Generalizations  of 
this  kind,  to  be  valuable,  must  be  cautiously  made,  drawn  from 
the  average  of  a  large  number  of  species,  and  a  somewhat  long 
series  of  years.  In  the  data  furnished  by  Dr.  Bigelow's  corres- 
pondents, if  an  inference  were  drawn  from  the  apple  and  pear 
alone,  the  difference  in  the  season  between  Charleston  and  Mon- 
treal, whose  difference  of  latitude  is  12°  51',  would  be  only  one 
month  and  twenty-one  days  ;  if  from  the  flowering  of  the  blood 
root,  it  would  be  only  one  month  and  eleven  days,  conclusions 
widely  different  from  those  drawn  from  the  average  of  all  the 
species  observed. 

Sp.  5.     The  Necklace  Poplar.     P.  monilifera.     Aiton. 

Leaves  figured  in  Michaux,  Plate  96.     A  leafy  branch  is  figured  by  Abbott, 
Insects,  II,  Plate  71,  with  the  Kitten  Moth. 

This  tree  has  an  erect  or  slightly  bending  trunk,  tapering 
gradually  to  a  height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  and  covered  with  a       

*  See  Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy,  Vol.  IV,  p.  77.      /\v     ---'•/ 

33  M""9  %< 


250       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

dark  granite  gray,  moderately  rugged  bark.  The  branches, 
when  the  tree  grows  on  high  and  rather  dry  land,  are  small, 
horizontal  or  arching  upwards,  with  the  bark  more  broken  than 
on  other  poplars,  and  having  a  speckled  appearance.  The 
branchlets  are  spreading  and  pendulous,  greenish  gray,  and  soon 
roughened  by  transverse  cracks.  They  are  slightly  angular  to- 
wards the  extremity.  The  recent  shoots  are  very  tough,  green- 
ish, or  greenish  gray,  and  very  slightly  angled  by  ridges  running 
down  from  the  leaves.  Buds  of  a  moderate  size,  shining,  but 
with  very  little  balsam.  Leafstalk  long,  somewhat  compressed, 
with  the  upper  edge  sharp  or  roundish,  with  conspicuous  glands 
above,  at  the  base  of  the  leaf.  Leaves  broad  ovate,  nearly  as  wide 
as  they  are  long,  rounded  or  making  nearly  a  right  angle  with 
the  stalk  at  base,  tapering  rapidly  to  a  short  point,  with  large 
rounded  serratures  ending  in  a  callous  or  glandular  point,  looking 
towards  the  end  of  the  leaf;  green  and  smooth  on  both  surfaces, 
somewhat  paler  beneath.  Pith  in  the  small  twigs  very  large 
and  five-angled. 

The  wood  is  white,  soft,  close-grained,  resilient,  not  disposed 
to  splinter,  and  resembling  apparently,  in  its  other  properties, 
that  of  the  other  poplars. 

This  is  usually  a  slender,  rather  handsome  tree,  with  a  spiry, 
but  somewhat  open  head. 

It  is  found,  cultivated,  on  the  Connecticut  River.  In  1837, 
I  found  a  large  tree,  growing  naturally  by  the  side  of  a 
stream  in  New  Ashford,  the  leaves  of  which  agree  perfectly 
with  those  which  I  gathered  in  Middletown,  from  trees  which 
Dr.  Barratt  pronounces  to  be  the  necklace  poplar. 

The  resemblance  between  the  leaves,  branches  and  trunk  of 
this  tree,  and  those  of  the  river  poplar  is  such,  that  I  should 
take  them  to  be  varieties  of  the  same  species.  Dr.  Barratt  con- 
siders them  as  sufficiently  distinguished  by  their  fructification. 
In  other  respects  I  can  see  no  marked  difference,  except  in  the 
smallness,  and  in  the  paleness  of  the  under  surface,  of  the  leaves 
of  the  necklace  poplar. 

The  tree  in  New  Ashford,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  was  sup- 
posed by  the  inhabitants  to  be  a  Balm  of  Gilead.  It  grows  by 
the  side  of  a  small  river,  in  a  rich  intervale,  and  measured,  in 


VIII.     1.  THE  NECKLACE  POPLAR.  251 

1838,  twenty  feet  and  five  inches  in  circumference,  at  the  smallest 
part  between  the  ground  and  the  branches.  When  first  observ- 
ed, fifty-five  or  sixty  years  previous,  it  was  a  small  tree,  not  two 
inches  in  diameter.  To  whichever  of  the  two  species  it  belongs, 
it  is  a  most  favorable  specimen  of  rapid  growth  ;  and  it  is  a  fine, 
broad  headed  tree. 

The  necklace  poplar  is  so  called  from  the  resemblance  of  the 
long  anient  of  matured  fruits,  before  opening,  to  the  beads  of  a 
necklace.  It  has  been  cultivated  for  many  years  in  Europe, 
where  it  is  called  Virginian  poplar,  and  Swiss  poplar,  the  last 
name  being  given  from  its  having  been  extensively  propa- 
gated in  Switzerland.  It  is  also  known  in  England  by  the 
name  of  Black  Italian  poplar,  from  having  been  introduced  from 
Italy.  It  is  valued  for  the  great  rapidity  of  its  growth,  which  is, 
in  the  climate  of  London,  between  thirty  and  forty  feet  in  seven 
years ;  and  even  in  Scotland,  it  has  grown  to  the  height  of  sev- 
enty feet  in  16  years ;  thus  becoming  of  a  size  for  timber,  sooner 
than  any  other  tree.  Its  timber  is  considered  valuable  in 
building,  as,  like  that  of  the  other  poplars,  when  kept  dry,  it  is 
very  durable.  Male  trees  are  much  to  be  preferred,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  dwelling-houses,  as  the  cotton  of  the  seeds  adheres  to 
clothes  and  furniture  in  a  most  troublesome  manner. — {Lou- 
don1 s  Arboretum,  III,  1658,  1659.)  Cuttings  of  this  tree  root 
more  freely  than  those  of  the  previous  species. 

There  is  another  poplar,  the  true  Balsam  Poplar,  found  in 
Canada,  in  Maine,  in  Vermont,  and  in  Connecticut,  north  and 
south  of  us,  and  therefore  probably  also  in  Massachusetts,  which 
I  have  not  detected  growing  naturally  in  any  part  of  the  State. 
It  has  a  great  resemblance  to  the  Balm  of  Gilead,  differing  from 
it  in  having  smaller  leaves,  which  are  uniformly  rounded  at 
base  and  never  heart-shaped.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  town  of 
Kennebunk  Port,  in  York  County,  Maine,  in  a  sheltered  hollow 
of  three  or  four  acres,  by  the  side  of  the  Kennebunk  River,  on 
the  land  of  George  Thompson,  I  found  this  tree  growing  natu- 
rally in  large  numbers.  Thence  it  has  been  extensively  propa- 
gated to  the  neighboring  towns.  On  the  leaves  of  the  trees 
there,  I  observed  the  caterpillar  of  the  kitten  moth,  Phaloenafur- 


252        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

cula,  which  Abbott  has  represented  as  living  on  the  leaves  of  a 
kindred  species,  the  necklace  poplar,  in  Georgia. 

VIII.     2.     THE  WILLOW.     SALIX.     L. 

The  willows  are  distinguished  from  the  poplars  by  having 
the  scales  which  form  the  aments  entire,  and  by  having  only 
from  one  to  seven  stamens  in  the  sterile  flowers.  The  fertile  con- 
tain a  single  ovary  surmounted  by  two  stigmas  which  are  usually 
two-parted.  The  willows  are  shrubs  or  trees,  varying  in  height 
from  two  or  three  inches,  to  eighty  or  ninety  feet.  They  are 
natives  of  the  cooler  regions  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  some 
of  them  being  smaller,  and  extending  farther  north,  than  any 
other  woody  plants,  and  others  being  found  in  mountainous  re- 
gions in  Africa,  India,  China  and  Peru.  Growing  naturally  on 
plains  in  moist  situations  by  water  courses,  they  are  often 
lofty  trees  ;  on  mountains  and  dry  plains,  they  are  for  the  most 
part  diminutive  shrubs. 

The  roots  of  the  willows  are  remarkable  for  their  toughness, 
magnitude,  length,  and  tenacity  of  life.  On  the  borders  of 
streams,  they  often  form  masses  which  present  a  powerful  re- 
sistance to  the  action  of  water ;  and  they  are  not  unfrequently 
many  times  larger  and  longer  than  the  stems  which  issue  from 
them.  The  stems  are  upright  or  spreading;  the  branches 
round,  slender,  and  very  flexible  ;  the  bark  rather  tough  ;  the 
leaves  simple,  and  usually  of  much  greater  length  than  breadth  ; 
and  accompanied,  on  opening,  by  two  stipules,  which  are  often 
permanent  and  remarkably  large,  but  often  caducous ;  the  buds 
are  covered  with  a  leathery,  concave  scale.  The  aments  are  ter- 
minal or  lateral,  and  appear,  in  different  species,  before,  with,  or 
after  the  leaves.  The  willows  are  like  the  poplars  in  the  rap- 
idity of  their  growth,  and  in  the  facility  with  which  they  may 
be  propagated  by  offsets,  layers  and  cuttings. 

"The  many  important  uses,"  says  Hooker,  "rendered  toman 
by  the  different  species  of  willow  and  osier,  serve  to  rank  them 
among  the  first  in  our  list  of  economical  plants."  In  the  ex- 
treme north-western  regions  of  Europe,  the  inner  bark  is  kiln- 
dried  and  ground,  to  be  mixed  with  oatmeal  in  times  of  scar- 


VIII.     2.  THE  WILLOW.  253 

city,  and  in  the  same  countries  at  present,  as  in  many  countries 
at  an  early  period  of  civilization,  the  twigs  and  branches  have 
been  of  important  use  in  constructing  household  utensils,  pan- 
niers, harness,  apparatus  for  fishing,  and  even  habitations.  The 
tough  bark  may  be  used  for  cords  and  matting,  and  in  Tartary, 
its  fibres  have  been  spun  and  woven  into  cloth.  Dr.  Walker,  a 
writer  upon  the  willows,  relates  that  "  he  has  ridden  in  the 
Hebrides  with  a  bridle  made  of  twisted  willow  twigs,  and  lain 
all  night  at  anchor  with  a  cable  made  of  the  same  material." 
— Loudon,  1450. 

The  bark  of  most  species  of  willow,  especially  when  stripped 
from  the  younger  branches,  is  remarkable  for  its  bitterness  and 
astringency  ;  and  has  been  long  employed,  with  marked  success, 
in  the  treatment  of  intermittent  fevers,  and  in  other  cases  which 
require  the  use  of  tonics.  It  is  the  best  substitute  known  for 
Peruvian  bark.  In  like  manner,  the  salicine  already  spoken  of, 
in  the  form  of  a  sulphate,  may  take  the  place  of  sulphate  of 
quinine,  and  is  said  to  be  preferable,  in  the  case  of  patients  of  a 
delicate  and  irritable  temperament.* 

The  wood  of  the  willow  is  soft,  smooth,  light,  elastic,  pliant 
and  tough.  In  Europe,  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  it  has 
been  applied  to  many  uses  for  which,  in  this  country,  other 
woods  are  commonly  preferred.  The  larger  trees  take  the  place 
of  pine,  and  are  sawn  into  boards  and  planks  for  the  frame- 
work and  flooring  of  buildings ;  and,  when  kept  dry,  are  found 
to  last  without  decay,  for  more  than  a  century.  In  Scotland, 
small  vessels  are  made  of  the  wood.  It  is  also  in  request  for 
the  use  of  the  turner,  and  for  lasts  and  toys,  as  a  substitute,  when 
dyed,  for  ebony,  also  for  ladders,  for  implements  of  husbandry, 
for  the  lining  of  carts,  and  especially  for  use  in  works  exposed 
constantly  to  water.  The  branches  and  twigs  are  of  the  first 
value  for  all  kinds  of  wicker  work  and  basket  making,  for  hoops, 
and  for  all  the  purposes  for  which  toughness,  pliancy  and  elas- 
ticity are  required.  The  wood  is  also  extensively  used,  in  many 
parts  of  Europe,   for  fuel,  making  a   pleasant,  clear  fire,   with 

*  Elemens  d'Histoire  Naturelle  Medicale,  Par  M.  Achille   Richard.  3me  ed., 
1838.     Tom.  III.,  185. 


254       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

little  smoke.  The  best  sorts  for  timber  are  the  white,  the  Bed- 
ford, the  crack-willow,  and  the  goats'  willow,  the  three  first 
of  which  have  been  introduced  into  this  country,  and  are  often 
seen  growing  here. 

The  leaves  of  the  willows  are  devoured  by  the  large  black 
caterpillars  of  the  Antiopa  butterfly,  {Vanessa  Antiopa,  Harris's 
Report,  p.  219),  and  the  branches  are  sometimes  completely 
stripped.  The  caterpillar  of  the  fork-tail  moth,  {Centra  borea- 
lls,  ib.  305),  is  also  found  on  their  leaves.  A  species  of  plant- 
lice  called  by  Dr.  Harris,  the  plant-louse  of  willow  groves, 
{Aphis  Salicti,  ib.,  p.  191),  is  found  clustered  together  in  great 
numbers  on  the  under  side  of  the  branches  of  various  kinds  of 
willow,  and  drawing  their  subsistence  from  the  plant  on  which 
they  live.  The  grubs  of  the  horn-bug,  {Lucanas  Capreolus  ib. 
p.  40),  live  in  the  trunks  and  roots  of  old  willows,  as  well  as 
in  those  of  apple  trees  and  oaks. 

The  male  and  female  trees  of  the  various  species  of  willow, 
are  found  to  differ  in  their  luxuriance  and  growth,  and  some- 
what in  the  quality  of  the  wood.  The  female  is  thought  to 
grow  with  more  vigor,  and  to  produce  larger  stems,  the  male  to 
have  equal  toughness,  but  to  be  more  slender  and  delicate.  The 
usual  properties  of  our  native  willows  will  be  mentioned,  when 
known,  in  the  description  of  the  several  species. 

The  willows  present  greater  and  more  numerous  difficulties 
to  the  student  than  any  other  family  of  plants.  These  have 
been  enumerated  by  one  of  the  greatest  of  modern  botanists, 
(De  Candolle,  Flore  Francaise,  III,  282,)  as  follows:  1.  The 
species  are  often  trees  which  can  be  but  imperfectly  judged  of 
from  figures  or  specimens ;  2.  The  male  and  female  are  distinct 
plants,  so  that  the  knowledge  of  an  individual  does  not  com- 
plete that  of  the  species  ;  3.  The  flowers  often  expand  at  a  dif- 
ferent time  from  the  leaves ;  4.  The  leaves  present  little  variety 
and  few  marks  of  distinction ;  5.  The  seeds  are  usually  unpro- 
ductive, so  that  we  are  prevented  from  rearing  doubtful  species 
for  study ;  6.  Most  of  them  grow  readily  from  cuttings,  a  fre- 
quent and  most  fertile  cause  of  varieties;  7,  and  lastly,  garden 
cultivation  entirely  changes  their  appearance. 

For  these  reasons  and  others,  there  is  little  certainty  in  regard 


VIII.     2.  THE  SAGE  WILLOW.  255 

to  several  of  the  species ;  and  in  regard  to  many  of  the  native 
sorts,  I  have  not  had  opportunities  of  making  sufficiently  accurate 
and  continued  observations  to  authorize  me  to  speak  with  con- 
fidence. I  have  received  important  assistance  from  Dr.  J.  Bar- 
ratt,  of  Middle  town,  Conn.,  who  has  long  studied  this  genus 
with  great  care ;  and  I  shall  follow  his  arrangement  of  the  spe- 
cies, and  rely  on  his  authority  in  describing  some  as  distinct, 
which  I  should  be  disposed,  from  my  own  imperfect  observa- 
tions, to  consider  as  only  varieties.  I  am  not  sufficiently  well 
acquainted  with  them  to  present  a  strictly  popular  view,  and 
am  therefore  obliged  to  offer  that  which  follows. 

Group  First.     The  Sallows.     Cinerece.    Borrer. 

These  are  upland,  grayish  shrubs,  more  or  less  downy,  espe- 
cially at  an  early  period  of  their  year's  growth,  and  with  leaves 
very  light  colored  beneath. 

"  Their  aments  are  oval  or  oval-cylindrical,  expanding  before 
the  leaves  ;  stamens  two,  beginning  to  expand,  at  the  apex  of  the 
anient ;  scales  red,  afterwards  turning  black.  Younger  female 
aments  recurved.  Ovaries  stalked.  Younger  stigmas  mostly 
red  or  pale  yellow,  finally  turning  green.  Leaves  obovate, 
lanceolate,  mostly  very  entire,  hoary,  with  white  or  ashy  hairs, 
rugose ;  with  the  margins  often  revolute." — Barratt,  Salices 
Americanos. 

Sp.  1.     The  Sage  Willow.     Salix  tristis.     Aiton. 

Leaves  long,  linear-lanceolate,  or  oblanceolate,  acutely  wedge-shaped  at  base, 
acute,  or  sometimes  rather  obtuse,  at  the  end,  entire  or  distantly  waved-toothed, 
often  revolute  at  the  edge,  the  upper  surface  somewhat  downy  at  first,  after- 
wards smoothish  ;  the  under  surface  glaucous  or  whitish,  sometimes  downy, 
sometimes  rugose  with  prominent  smooth  veins  ;  stipules  minute,  narrow, 
lanceolate,  caducous ;  aments  very  small,  coming  out  before  the  leaves  ; 
scales  oblong-roundish,  hairy  at  the  margin,  turning  black  ;  ovaries  stalked, 
covered  with  a  grayish,  silky  down  ;    style  short. 

The  two  varieties  which  have  usually  been  considered  as  the 
species,  tristis,  and  Muhlenbcrgiana,  run  into  each'other,  and  are 
properly  considered  by  Dr.  Barratt  as  forms  of  a  single  species. 
They  are  found  on  dry,  sandy  plains,  the  smaller  variety  con- 


256        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

spicuously  grayish  and  sage-like  in  its  appearance,  and  from 
one  to  three  feet  high  ;  the  larger,  three  or  four  feet  high,  with 
larger,  broader,  and  longer  leaves  of  a  deeper  green. 

The  sage  willow  is  a  slender,  hoary  plant,  or  a  spreading 
tufted  bush,  one  or  two  feet  high,  growing  in  the  openings  and 
on  the  borders  of  dry,  sandy  woods.  Its  root  is  large  and  strong, 
often  an  inch  or  two  in  diameter,  with  reddish  wood  and  thick 
bark,  extending  some  distance,  often  two  or  three  feet,  at  a  few 
inches  beneath  the  surface.  From  this  rise  several  stems  of  a 
yellowish  green,  or,  later,  grayish  brown,  somewhat  downy, 
and  clouded  often  with  dark  brown.  The  central  stem,  long 
and  very  slender,  bears  the  fructification.  After  the  decay  of 
which,  it  is  bare,  or  with  a  few  leaves  at  the  extremity.  From 
the  lower  part  of  it,  and  from  the  other  stems,  shoot  the  leaf- 
bearing  branches.  On  these  the  leaves  are  somewhat  crowded, 
narrow-obovate,  spatulate,  one  or  two  inches  long,  broadest 
towards  the  upper  end,  and  tapering  gradually  to  a  very  short 
petiole,  acute  at  the  extremity,  reflexed  and  waved  at  the  mar- 
gin, downy  on  the  mid-rib  and  veins,  and  corrugate,  sage-like 
above,  whitish  tomentose  beneath.  It  not  unfrequently  bears 
small  leafy  cones. 

In  one  sub- variety,  the  leaves  are  crowded  and  very  short,  not 
half  an  inch  long,  and  the  whole  upper  part  of  the  plant  is 
covered  with  a  dense,  whitish  gray  tomentum. 

Var.  2. — Very  much  like  this,  but  larger  in  all  respects,  is 
the  variety  which  has  been  called  Muhlenberg's  willow. 

The  main  stem  is  smooth  and  of  a  bright  green  below,  cloud- 
ed and  somewhat  downy  above.  The  recent  branches  greenish 
yellow,  downy,  and  spreading.  Leaves  from  one  and  a  half  to 
three  inches  long,  oblong  lanceolate,  half  an  inch  wide,  pointed 
at  the  extremity,  rounded  or  rather  acute  at  base,  entire,  waved, 
revolute  at  the  margin,  corrugate  with  depressed  veins,  and  sage- 
like, with  the  mid-rib  downy  above,  glaucous,  with  the  mid-rib 
and  veins  prominent  beneath,  but  without  down  on  the  mature 
leaves.  The  young  leaves  are  downy  on  both  surfaces, — revolute 
in  aestivation ;  stipules  small,  ear-shaped,  pointed  above,  with 
one  or  two  teeth  on  each  side,  recurved  at  the  margin,  some- 
times appendaged  at  base. 


VIII.     2.        THE  MUHLENBERG  WILLOW.  257 

Var.  3. — Similar  to  these  and  resembling  them  in  the  naked, 
persistent,  virgate  stems  which  had  borne  the  fructification  in 
the  preceding  spring,  is  a  willow  intermediate  between  these 
and  S.  rostrdta,  perhaps  a  variety  of  the  latter,  with  broad, 
oblong,  lanceolate  leaves,  waved  or  crenate  at  the  margin,  and 
revolute,  smooth  but.  corrugated  and  sage-like  above,  very  downy 
beneath,  pointed,  often  acuminate,  at  the  end,  rounded  at  base, 
on  a  short  petiole.     I  take  this  to  be  &  recurvala  of  Pursh. 

It  is  a  shrub  six  or  eight  feet  high,  with  light  brown  bark  on 
the  trunk,  dark  brown  above,  with  a  dark,  clouded  pubescence 
on  the  last  year's  shoots.  The  recent  shoots  are  pale  green,  and 
somewhat  pubescent. 

Leaves  on  short  petioles,  lanceolate  or  oblanceolate,  usually 
broader  towards  the  extremities,  rather  acute  at  each  end,  nearly 
entire,  with  a  light,  silky  pubescence  above  when  young,  after- 
wards smooth  and  shining,  but  strongly  marked  with  depres- 
sions at  the  veins  and  nerves;  rugose  and  veiny  beneath;  revo- 
lute and  waved  on  the  margin ;  vernation  revolute.  Stipules 
about  as  long  as  the  petiole,  unequally  ovate,  pointed,  some- 
times entire,  often  with  one  or  two  teeth  on  each  side,  downy. 

Aments  appearing  before  the  leaves  and  on  distinct  branches, 
the  staminate  half  an  inch  long,  often  recurved,  with  two  or 
three  small  leaves  at  base ;  scales  rounded,  brown,  with  thin, 
long,  silken  hairs,  particularly  on  the  edges  ;  stamens  two,  on 
long  filaments.  Pistillate,  one  third  to  one  half  an  inch,  recurv- 
ed ;  scales  dark  brown,  somewhat  silky ;  germens  ovate,  closely 
covered  with  whitish,  silky  pubescence,  supported  on  long  pedi- 
cels, and  tapering  gradually  to  the  bifid  stigma. 

Sp.  2.     Muhlenberg's  Willow.     S.  Muhlenbergiana.     Barratt. 
&  conifera.     Muni.     Willd. 

Leaves  oblong-lanceolate,  remotely  serrate,  acute,  smooth  above,  plain  and 
downy  beneath  ;  recent  shoots  smooth  ;  stipules  lunate,  somewhat  dentate  ; 
aments  preceding-  the  leaves,  diandrous  ;  scales  lanceolate,  obtuse,  villous; 
ovaries  stalked,  lanceolate,  silky  ;  style  bifid,  stigmas  bilobed. — Pursh,  II,  612. 

Branches  blackish,  the  younger  ones  pubescent.  Leaves  oblong-lanceolate, 
acute,  remotely,  minutely  and  acutely  serrate,  very  entire  at  base,  above  deep 
green,  smooth,  beneath  plane,  not  rugose-veined,  softly  tomentose,  late  in  au- 
tumn nearly  smooth.     Leaf-stalks  long.     Stipules  middle-sized,  lunate,  some- 

34 


258        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

times  very  entire,  oftener  furnished  with  one  or  two  conspicuous  teeth  near  the 
base.  Aments  preceding  the  leaves  ;  the  male  scarce  an  inch  long ;  female 
an  inch,  cylindrical-oblong,  obtuse.  Scales  lanceolate,  very  villous.  Ovaries 
lanceolate,  villous.  Style  elongate.  Stigmas  four,  cylindrical. — Willdenow, 
Sp.  pi.,  IV,  705. 

This  willow  occurs  very  abundantly  within,  and  on  the  bor- 
ders of  both  dry  and  moist  woods,  in  most  parts  of  the  State. 
It  is  a  shrub  from  two  or  three  to  nine  or  ten  feet  high.  Flow- 
ers about  the  15 — 20  of  April,  ripens  its  capsules  in  May. 

Group  Second.     The  Two  Colored  Willows.     Discolores.     Borrer. 

Aments  oval  or  cylindrical,  preceding  the  leaves,  smooth,  silky 
or  woolly,  destitute  of  floral  leaves  at  the  base.  Scales  turning 
black ;  stamens  two,  free  or  united,  expanding  first  at  the  end 
of  the  ament.  Ovaries  stalked,  somewhat  j>ubcscent.  Leaves 
somewhat  coriaceous,  deciduous,  serrate  or  denticulate,  smooth 
and  shining  above,  glaucous  and  pubescent  beneath.  Trees  or 
shrubs. — B  ar  r  a  tt . 

Sp.  3.     The  Two  Colored   Willow.      Bog  Willow.     S.  dis- 
color.    Muhlenberg. 

Leaf  figured  in  Annals  of  Botany,  II,  Plate  5,  fig.  1. 

Leaves  oblong,  rather  obtuse,  smooth,  remotely  serrate,  very  entire  at  the 
apex,  glaucous  beneath;  stipules  lanceolate,  serrate,  deciduous  ;  aments  open- 
ing nearly  with  the  leaves,  diandrous,  oblong,  downy,  scales  oblong,  acute, 
black,  hairy;  ovaries  subsessile,  lanceolate,  downy ;  style  rather  short ;  stig- 
mas two-parted. — Willd.,  IV,  665.     Pursh,  II,  613. 

"  Stem  shrubby,  rarely  arborescent ;  branches  dark-colored.  Leaves  oblong, 
an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  rather  acute,  somewhat  narrower  at 
base,  remotely  serrate,  very  entire  at  the  apex,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  glau- 
cous beneath.  Younger  footstalks  downy,  adult,  smooth.  Stipules  small, 
lanceolate,  serrate,  deciduous.  Male  aments  scarce  an  inch  in  length,  oblong. 
Filaments  white.  Anthers  red,  turning  yellow.  Female  aments  an  inch  long. 
Scales  oblong,  acute,  villous.  Ovaries  oblong-lanceolate,  hairy.  Style  mid- 
dling.    Stigma  four-cleft."—  Willd.,  IV,  665. 

I  have  many  specimens  of  leaves  and  flowers,  which  Dr. 
Barratt  pronounces  to  belong  to  this  willow.  They  do  not, 
however,  agree  with  the  description  of  Pursh  or  the  better  de- 
scription of  Willdenow.     The  leaves  are  not  "  rather  obtuse," 


VIII.     2.     WOOLLY-HEADED  SWAMP  WILLOW.      259 

nor  the  "ovaries  sessile;  "  and  the  leaves  are  twice  or  thrice  as 
long  as  those  described  by  Willdenow  and  figured  in  the  Annals 
of  Botany.  Dr.  Barratt  has  paid  far  more  attention  to  this  fam- 
ily, and  with  far  better  opportunities  for  studying  it  than  either  of 
the  above-named  botanists  ;  and  he  will,  doubtless,  remove  these 
difficulties  in  his  long-hoped-for  work  on  American  willows. 

There  are  great  defects  in  the  descriptions  given  of  our  wil- 
lows, by  most  foreign  botanists.  Not  unfrequently,  their  de- 
scriptions will  apply  equally  well  to  several  plants,  and  speci- 
mens may  be  gathered  from  the  same  plant,  more  unlike  than 
the  descriptions  of  so  called  distinct  species.  Dr.  Bigelow  found 
this  willow  in  wet  swamps  at  Dedham. 

Sp.  4.     The  Woolly-headed  Swamp  Willow.     &  eriocephala. 

Michaux. 

Leaves  elliptic-lanceolate  or  oblong-lanceolate,  entire  and  wedge-shaped  at 
base,  entire,  remotely,  and  indistinctly,  or  distinctly  serrate  on  the  edge,  mu- 
cronate,  the  serratures  more  multiplied  and  sharp  towards  and  sometimes  quite 
to  the  point ;  green  above,  glaucous,  or  ferruginous  beneath  ;  when  young, 
conspicuously  downy  on  the  whole  of  both  surfaces  ;  late  in  the  season  downy 
on  the  mid-rib  above,  and  on  the  whole  surface  beneath,  rarely  smooth.  Sti- 
pules half-heart-shaped,  serratures  pointed,  rarely  somewhat  obtuse. 

Branchlets  dark  brown  or  purplish,  very  downy. 

A  small  tree,  conspicuous  in  the  swamps  in  April  for  its  large 
and  very  densely  woolly  catkins. 

The  short  description  of  Michaux,  Fl.  Bor.  Amer.  II,  225, 
"  Diandrous,  branchlets  minutely  tomentose,  leaves  oblong- 
oval,  somewhat  retuse  at  base,  serrulate ;  aments  oval,  exceed- 
ingly villous,"  applies  equally  well  to  nearly  all  the  willows  of 
this  section. 

Sp.  5.     The  Prinos-like  Willow.     S.  pri?ioides.     Pursh. 

Leaves  oval-oblong,  acute,  remotely  undulate-serrate,  smooth,  glaucous  be- 
neath ;  stipules  semi-cordate,  cut-toothed  ;  aments  preceding  the  leaves,  hairy  ; 
ovaries  stalked,  ovate,  acuminate,  silky  ;  style  long ;  stigmas  bifid. — Pursh, 
11,613. 

The  matured  and  flowering  branches  are  smooth,  shining, 
dark  purple.      The  recent,  leafy  twigs,  very  slightly  downy, 


260        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

and  brownish  at  first,  but  soon  turning  dark  and  smooth.  The 
leaves  are  oval-oblong  or  elliptic -lanceolate,  entire  and  wedge- 
shaped,  remotely  waved-serrate,  sometimes  distinctly  serrate,  on 
the  edge,  ending  in  an  acute  or  prolonged  point,  mostly  entire. 
Young  leaves  silky-downy,  mature,  smooth  on  both  surfaces; 
mid-rib  sometimes  downy  above ;  glaucous  beneath ;  of  a  thin 
and  delicate  texture.  Stipules  half-heart-shaped,  or  ear-shaped, 
sometimes  small  and  nearly  entire,  sometimes  half  an  inch  long 
and  more  or  less  sharply  toothed. 

Female  ament  cylindrical,  one  or  two  inches  long,  somewhat 
crowded,  on  a  short  stalk  invested  with  a  few  cucullate,  silky- 
downy,  whitish,  transformed  leaves;  scales  oblong,  hairy,  pur- 
ple; ovaries  on  a  rather  long  stalk,  ovate,  silky,  tapering  to  a 
long  style,  with  the  stigmas  somewhat  deeply  cleft.  Male 
ament  an  inch  or  more  long ;  filaments  long. 

Sp.  6.     Dense-floweked  Early  Willow.     S.  crassa.     Barratt. 

Leaves  elliptic-lanceolate,  rather  distantly  serrate  ;  towards  the  base  entire, — 
three  and  a  half  inches  long,  one  inch  broad,  above  glabrous,  dull  green,  be- 
neath veined  and  clothed  with  short  ferruginous  hairs  ;  adult  leaves  subcoria- 
ceous.  The  under  surface  in  autumn  is  glaucous  and  partially  divested  of  its 
pubescence.  Stipules  small,  lanceolate,  serrate,  or  frequently  wanting — male 
ament  ovate,  sessile,  three  quarters  to  one  inch  long  ;  after  flowering,  two 
inches  long,  densely  clothed  with  yellowish-white,  silky  hairs  ;  scales  obovate. 
Capsules  pedicellate,  ovate-lanceolate. — Barratt,  Sal.  Am.  p.  7. 

Flowers  April  1 — 10  ;  capsules  ripe  May  4 — 6. 

"  A  small  tree  about  fifteen  feet  high ;  bark  on  the  stem  rough 
and  ash-colored ;  branches  irregular  and  knotty ;  twigs  thick, 
and  densely  flowered.  The  ends  of  the  young  branches  pro- 
tected by  a  soft  pubescence. 

"This  is  a  very  hardy  species,  and  one  of  the  handsomest  early 
willows  we  possess,  and  highly  ornamental  in  plantations.  A 
few  sunny  days  in  spring  will  cause  its  rich  yellowish  white 
catkins  to  expand  or  open.  It  is  so  admirably  adapted  to  with- 
stand cold  by  its  dense  soft  hairs,  that  the  frosts  of  spring  retard, 
but  do  not  injure  or  kill  its  expanded  catkins.  The  clothing  or 
wool  of  the  aments,  is  not  sensibly  changed  in  color  by  the  solar 
ray.     This  species  is  rather  rare  with  us,  and  may  possibly  be 


VIII.     2.     THE  FROST  OR  TENDER  WILLOW.         261 

found  more  plentifully  in  higher  northern  latitudes.  It  seems, 
indeed,  to  possess  all  the  fitting  requisites  for  enduring  a  severe 
climate;  and  affords  a  beautiful  exemplification  of  nature's 
economy,  in  the  structure  of  the  catkins  of  the  willow,  provid- 
ing those  exposed  during  flowering  time  to  severe  cold,  with  a 
vesture  which  outvies  the  imperial  ermine." — Barratt. 

Sp.  7.    The  Frost  or  Tender  Willow.    &  sensitiva.    Barratt. 

Leaves  ovate-lanceolate,  acuminate ;  cuneate  and  entire  at  the  base,  finely 
serrate  at  the  point,  and  more  distantly  and  strongly  serrated  towards  the 
base ;  leaves  three  to  five  inches  long,  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  wide  ; 
glabrous  ;  above  deep  green,  beneath  smooth  and  pale  green,  and  of  a  thinnish 
texture.  Stipules  subfalcate,  serrate.  Mas.  aments  rather  lax,  one  and  a  half 
inches  long  ;  scales  lanceolate,  black,  lightly  clothed  with  grayish  black  hairs. 
Aments  and  flowering  branches  frequently  destroyed  by  frost. — Barratt. 

Flowers  April  1 — 10. 

"  A  small  tree  about  fifteen  feet  high.  This  species  has  not 
hitherto  been  described.  It  bears  large,  smooth  leaves  with 
greenish  branches.  The  aments  and  twigs  are  frequently  de- 
stroyed by  frost  in  flowering  time.  When  it  has  been  thus 
killed,  the  aments  and  branches  blacken,  afterwards  some  scat- 
tering flowers  appear,  but  these  are  generally  of  inferior  size. 

"The  twigs  of  S.  sensitiva,  at  their  extremities,  have  but  a 
slight  velvety  pubescence  to  protect  them ;  and  the  aments  are 
sparingly  clothed  with  hairs.  It  offers  a  striking  contrast  to 
S.  crassa,  with  its  dense,  woolly  catkins,  which  are  uninjured 
by  the  frosts  to  which  they  are  exposed  during  the  period  of 
flowering.  When  the  catkins  of  S.  sensitiva  begin  to  expand, 
on  the  approach  of  the  flowering  season,  the  large  scales  of  the 
buds,  or  shields,  covering  the  aments,  fall,  or  when  these  are 
purposely  removed  for  observation,  the  aments  present  a  lively 
red  color.  The  direct  solar  ray  soon  changes  the  scales  of  the 
aments  to  black,  (very  similar  to  the  action  of  nitrate  of  silver, 
when  exposed  to  light,  but  less  rapid.)  The  hairs  of  the  anient 
are,  also,  changed  to  a  blackish  gray.  An  attentive  observance 
of  this  and  some  other  willows,  has  satisfied  me,  that  the  hairs 
or  clothing  of  the  scales  of  the  catkins,  besides  protecting  them 
from  frost,  perform  in  this  and  other  groups,  a  function  similar 


262       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

to  the  scales  of  the  ament ;  and  the  scales  are  manifestly  only 
modified  leaves.  This  subject  I  have  treated  at  length  in  my 
manuscript  essay  on  the  willows,  and  can  here  only  briefly 
advert  to  these  interesting  facts." — Barratt. 

Dr.  Barratt  has  long  and  attentively  studied  these  two  wil- 
lows, and  I  insert  his  descriptions  at  length.  Both  of  the  plants 
are  found  abundantly  at  Brookline  and  elsewhere,  and  answer 
to  the  descriptions  which  Dr.  Barratt  has  given.  I  have,  how- 
ever, always  considered  these  two  and  the  two  preceding,  as 
varieties  of  one  willow,  with  some  striking  differences,  certainly, 
but  not  greater  than  are  found  in  what  are  universally  admitted 
to  be  varieties  of  the  apple,  the  pear,  and  the  plumb  trees. 

Group  Third.     The  Gra.yish  Willows.     Grisecs.    Borrer. 

Aments  cylindrical,  rather  short,  preceding  the  leaves,  with 
two  or  three  minute  leaves  at  base  ;  stamens  two,  opening  usually 
first  from  the  middle  of  the  ament.  Ovaries  sessile  or  stalked, 
grayish  silky.  Leaves  lanceolate,  serrate,  grayish  silky  beneath, 
turning  black  on  drying.  Shrubs  with  branches  brittle  at  base, 
and  an  intensely  bitter  bark. — Barratt. 

Sp.  8      The  Brittle  Gray  Willow.     &  grisea.     Willdenow. 

Leaves  lanceolate,  acuminate,  serrulate,  smooth,  but  downy  on  the  mid-rib 
above  ;  silken  or  naked  beneath  ;  stipules  linear,  deflexed,  deciduous  ;  aments 
preceding  the  leaves  ;  scales  oblong,  hairy,  black  at  the  apex;  ovaries  oblong 
or  slightly  tapering,  on  a  short  stalk,  silky  ;  stigmas  sessile,  obtuse. — Pursh, 
II,  616.     Wittd.,  Sp.  pi.,  IV,  699. 

A  shrub  usually  five  or  six  feet  high,  sometimes  a  small  tree 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high,  growing  in  or  near  places  wet  or 
inundated  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  usually  much  branched 
and  abundantly  set  with  leaves.  The  female  aments  are  very 
numerous,  coming  out  just  before  the  leaves,  half  an  inch  long, 
erect,  on  a  short  footstalk,  which  is  invested  with  two  or  three 
linear  leaves,  of  nearly  the  same  length  as  the  aments.  Ovaries 
gradually  tapering  or  ovoid,  on  a  very  short  stalk,  crowded. 
Smaller  branches  reddish  green,  or  greenish,  at  last  olive,  tough, 
but  very  brittle  near  the  base.    Older  ones  ashy  gray.    Stem  on 


YIIL     2.  THE  BRITTLE  WILLOWS.  263 

old  trees  covered  with  whitish  and  grayish  membranaceous 
lichens.  Male  aments  three  fourths  of  an  inch  long,  with 
broader  leaves  on  the  footstalk,  very  silky.  Leaves  half  an 
inch  by  three  inches  or  more,  lanceolate  or  narrow-elliptic, 
sometimes  a  little  falcate.  Stalk  rather  long,  silky  above, 
rounded  or  rarely  acute  at  base,  tapering  to  a  long  point,  ser- 
rate, the  serratures  glandular  and  bent  towards  the  point  of 
the  leaf,  sometimes  undulate,  smooth,  often  shining,  with  the 
mid-rib  downy  above;  glaucous,  silken,  or  hairy,  sometimes 
smooth,  beneath.  Stipules  half-heart-shaped,  ending  in  an  acute 
or  blunt  point  above,  serrate.  The  leaves  on  the  branches  near 
the  trunk,  smaller,  more  acute,  and  silky. 

This  perfectly  well  characterized  willow  is  found  at  Mans- 
field, Ipswich,  Ware,  Williamstown,  and  in  many  other  parts 
of  the  State.  Its  twigs  are  long  and  slender  and  very  tough, 
yet  extremely  brittle  for  an  inch  or  two  at  base,  so  as  to  break 
short  with  little  resistance.  The  leaves  blacken  in  drying,  and 
communicate  a  deep  permanent  stain  to  the  paper  in  which  they 
are  dried  or  afterwards  kept.  It  promises  to  be  useful  to  the 
basket-maker,  and  probably  contains,  in  its  extremely  bitter 
bark,  a  valuable  dye,  as  it  certainly  does  a  great  quantity  of 
some  bitter  principle. 

Group  Fourth.     Viminales.    Borrer. 

The  basket  osier,  S.  vimindlis.  L.  has  been  introduced  and 
is  doubtless  found  in  Massachusetts.  I  have  not  found  it 
growing. 

Group  Fifth.     The  Brittle  Willows.     Fragihs.    Borrer. 

Aments  stalked,  cylindrical,  lax,  acuminate,  expanding  with 
the  leaves  or  after.  Scales  greenish  yellow,  downy,  or  smooth. 
Stamens  two  to  Jive,  expanding  first  from  the  base  of  the  ament. 
Ovaries  smooth.  Leaves  lanceolate,  or  lanceolate-falcate,  serrate, 
denticulate,  or  entire.      Trees.' — Barratt. 

A  less  natural  group  than  the  preceding.  The  species  would 
fall  easily  into  three  sub-groups;  S.  fragilis,  decipiens,  Rus- 
sellidna  and  vitellma,  forming  the  first ;  S.  lucida,  the  second, 


264       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

(unless  this  would  more  properly  be  thrown  among  the  Cor- 
data) ;   and  $.  Babylonica,  nigra,  and  Purshi&na,  the  third. 

Sp.  9.      The    Crack   Willow.      S.  frdgilis.      L.      Introduced. 

Figured  in  Sowerby's  English  Botany,  Plate  1807,  and  in  Loudon,  VII, 

Plate  205. 

Leaves  ovate-lanceolate,  pointed,  serrated  throughout,  very  smooth  ;  foot- 
stalks glandular;  stipules  half-heart-shaped,  pointed,  toothed  ;  ovaries  on  a 
short  stalk,  oblong-ovate,  smooth  ;  style  short ;  stigmas  bifid,  longer  than  the 
style  ;  scale  oblong,  about  equal  to  the  stigmas  and  ovaries,  pubescent,  ciliated; 
male  flowers  with  an  abortive  ovary. — Hooker,  British  Flora,  1st  ed.  p.  417. 
Loudon,  Arboretum,  1516. 

"A  tall,  bushy-headed  tree,  sometimes  found  from  eighty  to 
ninety  feet  in  height,  with  the  branches  set  on  obliquely,  some- 
what crossing  each  other,  not  continued  in  a  straight  line  out- 
wards from  the  trunk,  by  which  character  it  may  readily  be 
distinguished  in  winter." — Sir  J.  E.  Smith.  The  branches  are 
round,  and  "so  brittle  at  the  base,  in  spring,  that  with  the 
slightest  blow  they  start  from  the  trunk."  Hence  is  derived 
its  name,  and  from  this  fact  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  infers  that  the 
wood  cannot  have  the  valuable  properties  which  have  been 
attributed  to  it,  they  belonging,  of  right,  to  the  Bedford  willow. 

If  this  is  the  only  ground  of  his  decision,  it  is  a  rash  one, 
since  most  of  the  willows  in  this  country  which  are  remarkable 
for  toughness,  are  also  remarkable  for  breaking  easily  at  the 
base  of  the  branches,  in  spring,  and,  indeed,  at  other  seasons. 
The  long  branches  which  form  the  head  of  this  fine  tree  should 
have  shown  that  they  must  have  considerable  strength  to  resist 
the  force  of  the  wind  at  such  a  height.  And  a  practical  man, 
Mr.  Mathew,  gives  a  very  different  opinion.  "  The  red-wood 
Avillow,  or  stag's-head  osier,  {S.  frdgilis,)  produces  timber  su- 
perior to  that  of  any  other  tree  willow.  It  is  much  used  in 
Scotland  for  building  small  vessels ;  and  especially  for  fast-sail- 
ing sloops  of  war,  by  reason  of  its  lightness,  pliancy,  elasticity, 
and  toughness.  The  wood,  when  dry,  is  easily  known  from 
that  of  all  other  willows,  by  its  being  of  a  salmon  color  ;  on 
which  account  it  is  sometimes  used  in  cabinet-making  and  for 
children's  toys." — London,  Arb.,  1460. 


VIII.     2.  THE  VARNISHED  WILLOW.  265 

This  willow,  a  native  of  Britain,  has  been  introduced  and 
somewhat  extensively  propagated  in  this  vicinity.  Some  of  the 
largest  willows  near  Boston,  particularly  those  on  Willow  Street, 
in  Dorchester,  are  of  this  species.  I  find  some  of  the  leaves  at 
the  base  of  the  aments  and  on  the  accompanying  branchlets, 
perfectly  entire.  This  seems,  also,  to  be  the  case  with  those 
figured  in  Eng.  Bot.,  1S07. 

The  four  large  willows  above  referred  to,  were  measured,  in 
1839,  and  gave,  at  three  feet  from  the  ground,  the  following  di- 
mensions in  girth: — the  1st,  fifteen  feet  six  inches;  2d,  fifteen 
feet  seven  inches ;  3d,  fifteen  feet  eight  inches ;  and  the  4th, 
eighteen  feet  four  inches  at  four  feet,  and  twenty-one  feet  six 
inches  at  one  foot  from  the  ground.  The  first  three  were  thought 
to  be  fifty  years  old,  the  fourth  sixty  or  more.  This  last  is  a 
fine  tree.  It  continues  to  enlarge  to  the  height  of  nine  or  ten 
feet,  where  it  throws  out  four  large  branches.  Several  smaller 
ones  have  been  broken  off  by  the  wind. 

Sp.    10.     The    Varnished    Willow.      &    decipiens.     Hoffman. 

Introduced. 

Figured  in  Sowerby's  English  Botany,  Plate  1937. 

Leaves  lanceolate,  pointed,  serrate,  very  smooth  ;  floral  ones  partly  obovate 
and  re-curved;  footstalks  somewhat  glandular ;  stipules  half-ovate,  acute, 
toothed,  small,  often  wanting;  ovaries  tapering,  stalked,  smooth  ;  style  longer 
than  the  cloven  stigmas ;  branches  smooth,  highly  polished. — /.  E.  Smith, 
Eng.  Ft.,  IV,  183.     Hooker's  Eng.  Bot.,  417  ;  Loudon,  Arb.,  1515. 

"  This  forms  a  small  tree  of  handsome  growth,  flowering  in 
May.  It  is  readily  known  by  the  very  smooth  bark  of  the  last 
year's  shoots,  which  is  of  a  light  reddish  brown,  or  clay  color, 
appearing  as  if  varnished.  The  young  twigs  are  often  beauti- 
fully stained  with  crimson.  Leaves  very  much  akin  to  those 
of  the  Bedford  willow,  but  mostly  smaller." — Smith,  in  Eng., 
Bot.  1937. 

The  varnished  or  porcelain  appearance  of  the  branches,  not 
conspicuous  at  other  seasons,  makes  this  willow  easy  to  be  dis- 
tinguished in  winter  and  early  spring.  It  has  been  extensively 
propagated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  and  may  be  seen  in 
35 


266        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

great  numbers,  in  Chelsea,  on  the  turnpike  road  to  Salem,  and 
in  West  Cambridge,  in  several  places  on  the  road  to  Lexington. 
This  species  is  a  native  of  Britain,  and  has  been  much  culti- 
vated in  England  for  basket  work.  For  a  few  years,  in  moist 
ground,  it  annually  produces  rods  six  or  eight  feet  long,  but 
these  gradually  become  shorter,  and  the  plant  ceases  to  be  worth 
cultivating. 

Sp.    11.      The    Bedford   Willow.     S.  Russelliana.     Smith. 

Introduced. 

So  named  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  who  first  brought  it  into  notice. 

Figured  in  Sowerby's  Eng.  Botany,  1807,  and  Loudon,  III,  1518. 

Leaves  lanceolate,  tapering  at  each  end,  strongly  serrated  throughout, 
smooth,  very  pale  beneath;  footstalks  glandular,  or  leafy  ;  stipules  half  he-art- 
shaped,  strongly  serrate,  pointed  ;  ovary  stalked,  lanceolate,  smooth,  longer 
than  the  scale  ;  style  as  long  as  the  bifid  stigmas ;  scales  narrow,  lanceolate, 
slightly  ciliated. — Hooker,  British  Flora,  418  ;  Loudon,  Arb.,  1517. 

This  tree,  a  native  of  Britain,  attains  sometimes  to  as  great  a 
height  as  the  crack  willow,  and  is  considered  far  more  valuable. 
It  is  remarkable  for  the  rapidity  of  its  growth  in  its  natural  soil, 
and  it  grows  with  more  vigor,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston, 
than  any  other  willow,  native  or  foreign.  The  favorite  tree  of 
Dr.  Johnson,  at  Litchfield,  which  was  destroyed  a  few  years 
ago  by  a  hurricane,  was  of  this  species.*  It  is  extensively  cul- 
tivated in  England  for  poles,  for  its  wood,  and  for  its  bark,  which 
has  been  ascertained  to  contain  more  of  the  tannin  principle 
than  the  oak.  Mr.  Lowe,  in  his  survey  of  Nottinghamshire, 
says  that  a  plantation  of  it,  of  eight  years'  growth,  yielded  a 
net  profit  of  214/.  per  acre.     It  flowers  in  April  or  May. 

This  tree  may  be  known  from  the  others  of  this  group  by  the 
length  and  brightness  of  the  leaves,  their  large  serratures,  and 
their   occasionally   leafy    footstalks,    and   by   the   length   and 

*  A  few  years  before  the  Doctor's  death,  this  tree  measured  fifteen  feet  nine 
inches  in  circumference,  at  the  ground,  and  eleven  feet  ten  inches  at  the  smallest 
place  below  the  branches.  It  continued  to  increase  till  1810,  when  it  measured 
twenty-one  feet  in  girth,  at  six  feet  from  the  ground.  In  1829,  it  was  blown  down. 
Loudon  has  given  a  figure  of  this  tree  as  it  appeared  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Johnson's 
death,  and  also  just  before  its  destruction.     See  Arboretum,  III,  pp.  1520,  1521. 


VIII.    2.  THE  GLOSSY  WILLOW.  267 

straightness  of  its  vigorous  green  shoots.  It  is  found  in  Rox- 
bury,  along  the  Lowell  road,  and  for  some  distance  along  the 
brook  which  runs  near  Mr.  J.  A.  Lowell's  house.  It  is  there 
mingled  with  the  yellow  willow. 

Sp.  12.     The  Glossy  Willow.     S.  lucida.     Muhlenberg. 

The  leafis  figured  in  the  Annals  of  Botany,  II,  Plate  5,  fig.  7,  and  in  Michaux, 

Sylva,  III,  Plate  125. 

Leaves  ovate  oblong  ;  cuspidate,  acuminate,  rounded  and  somewhat  alter- 
nate at  base,  sharply  serrate,  with  glandular  serratures,  smooth  and  shining 
on  both  surfaces  ;  stipules  oblong  or  roundish,  glandular -serrate  ;  aments  ap- 
pearing with  the  leaves  ;  about  three  to  five  stamens;  scales  broad-lanceolate, 
obtuse,  hairy  at  base,  toothed  at  the  apex,  smooth  above  ;  ovaries  lanceolate- 
subulate,  stalked,  smooth;  style  cleft,  stigmas  bifid,  obtuse.  Outer  bud-scales 
very  hairy.—  Pursh.  II,  615  ;    Willd.  IV,  667. 

A  handsome  small  tree,  sometimes  twelve  to  fifteen  feet 
high,  and  four  inches  diameter,  usually  smaller.  The  trunk'is 
nearly  smooth,  and  the  bark  externally  much  resembles  that  of 
a  maple.  The  small  branches  are  smooth,  polished,  and  dark 
green.  Recent  shoots  a  shining  yellow,  those  of  the  second  year 
bronzed.  The  leaves  have  a  singularly  neat  and  definite  outline, 
from  one  to  two  inches  broad,  by  three  and  a  half  to  five  long. 
They  are  on  short,  compressed,  smooth  footstalks  ;  ovate-lanceo- 
late, or  elliptic-lanceolate,  rounded  at  base,  tapering  to  a  very 
long  acuminate  point;  closely  and  sharply  glandular-serrate,  of 
a  shining  green  above  ;  lighter,  polished  and  reticulate  beneath. 
At  the  base  of  the  leaf,  on  each  side,  are  usually  a  few  pedicellate 
glands.  Stipules  small,  semi-circular,  glandular-serrate.  Buds 
long,  compressed,  on  the  recent  shoots  bright  yellow.  The 
branches,  large  and  small,  are  extremely  brittle  near  the  base ; 
indeed,  every  part  is  brittle  except  the  recent  shoots,  which  are 
tough,  but  less  so  than  those  of  most  other  willows. 

This  is  the  most  beautiful  of  the  willows.  Hardly  ever  have 
I  experienced  more  vividly  the  sense  of  beauty  in  inanimate 
nature,  than  on  coming,  unexpectedly,  upon  a  low  clump  of 
this  willow,  in  a  little  islet,  on  the  edge  of  Meeting-House  Pond, 
in  Westminster. 

This  willow  is  found   in  all  parts  of  the  State,   and  of  New 


268        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

England.  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker  says  it  is  one  of  the  most  generally 
diffused  of  all  the  willows  in  British  North  America,  being  found 
throughout  Canada,  from  Lake  Huron  to  the  Saskatchawan 
and  Jasper's  Lake  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  to  the  Colum- 
bia River,  and  as  far  north  as  Fort  Franklin  on  the  Mackenzie 
River.  It  occurs  as  far  south  as  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania. 
It  has  a  near  resemblance  to  S.  pentandra,  of  Europe,  but 
the  leaves  differ  in  having  a  much  longer  acumination,  and  in 
having  their  serratures  less  glandular,  and  the  male  aments  and 
their  footstalks  are  much  shorter. 

Group  Sixth.     The  White  Willows.     Alba.     Borrer. 

Trees  of  the  largest  size,  having  lanceolate,  serrated  leaves, 
with  glandular  serratures,  long  appressed,  silky  hairs  beneath, 
and  often  above,  giving  to  the  foliage  a  whitish  or  bluish  hue. 
Flowers  loosely  disposed  in  the  catkins ;  stamens  two ;  ovaries 
smooth. — Hooker,  Eng.  FL,  418. 

Sp.  13.     The  White  Willow.     &  alba.     L.     Introduced. 

Figured  in  Sowerby's  English  Botany,  2430.     The  tree  in  Loudon,  Arb., 

VII,  209. 

Leaves  elliptic-lanceolate,  regularly  glandular-serrate,  acute,  silky  beneath, 
often  above  ;  ovaries  ovate-acuminate,  nearly  sessile,  smooth  ;  stigmas  short, 
recurved,  deeply  cleft ;  stamens  two,  with  hairy  filaments ;  scales  short,  pu- 
bescent at  the  margin. — Hooker' s  Eng.  FL,  p.  418. 

"  A  native  of  Europe,  from  Norway  and  Sweden  to  the  Med- 
iterranean^Sea ;  of  the  north-east  and  west  of  Asia ;  near  all 
the  large  rivers  of  Russia  and  Livonia,  especially  the  Irtish, 
where  it  attains  the  height  of  a  large  tree." — Loudon,  1523.  It 
has  long  been  more  extensively  planted  throughout  Britain,  as 
a  timber  tree,  than  any  other  species.  It  grows  rapidly,  often 
to  the  height  of  thirty  feet  in  ten  years,  and,  in  favorable  situa- 
tions, attains  an  elevation  of  even  eighty  feet  and  upwards.  It 
has  been  extensively  planted  in  various  parts  of  the  Continent 
of  Europe,  particularly  in  Russia,  on  the  road  from  Moscow  to 
the  Austrian  frontier. 

It  has  also  been  introduced  and  extensively  planted  in  this 


VIII.     2.  THE  YELLOW  WILLOW.  269 

country.     I  have  found  it  in  Martha's  Vineyard,  in  Waltham, 
and  along  the  roads  in  Berkshire. 

The  Blue  Willow,  S.  ccerulea,  is  by  some  made  a  separate 
species  ;  by  some,  it  is  considered  a  variety  of  the  white.  It  is 
figured  in  Sowerby's  English  Botany,  p.  2431.  The  only  char- 
acters, by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  &  alba  are,  that  the 
under  surface  of  the  leaves  is  less  silky,  often  quite  smooth,  and 
that  the  leaves  have  a  bluish  hue,  deeper  than  that  of  the  white. 
It  has  been  extensively  introduced,  and  is  found  in  many  parts 
of  the  State ;  and  so  readily  does  it  propagate  itself,  that  the 
blue  willow,  with  others  of  the  same  group,  fringes  the  beauti- 
ful Housatonic,  in  the  midst  of  wildness  and  of  cultivation, 
from  its  source  to  the  sea. 

This  willow  is  considered  preferable,  on  account  of  the  rap- 
idity of  its  growth,  to  the  white. 


Sp.  14.     The  Yellow  Willow,    or    Golden    Osier.     &  vitel- 

lina.     L.     Introduced. 

Figured  in  Sowerby's  English  Botany,  1389.     The  tree  in  Loudon,  Arb., 

VII,  Plate  206. 

Leaves  lanceolate,  acute,  with  glandular  serratures,  acuminate,  glaucous 
and  more  or  less  silky  beneath  ;  often  so,  but  usually  smooth  above  ;  stipules 
minute,  lanceolate,  deciduous,  smooth  ;  ovaries  ovate-lanceolate,  sessile, 
smooth;  scales  linear-lanceolate,  acute,  fringed  at  the  base,  longer  than  the 
pistil;  style  short,  stigmas  deeply  cleft. — Hooker's  British  Botany,  419; 
Loudon,  III,  1528.  Differs  from  the  white  in  its  longer,  more  taper  aments, 
lanceolate,  pointed  scales,  smooth  filaments,  smoother  leaves,  and  conspicu- 
ously in  its  bright  yellow  branches. 

This  is  a  native  of  Britain  and  various  other  parts  of  Europe, 
where  it  is  extensively  cultivated  as  an  ornamental  tree,  and  as 
an  osier,  and  grows  sometimes  to  the  height  of  fifty  or  sixty 
feet. 

The  golden  osier  has  been  more  extensively  propagated  in 
New  England  than  any  other  foreign  willow.  It  is  found  in 
many  parts  of  Maine,  where  it  sometimes  attains  a  height  of 
thirty  feet,  in  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Connecticut,  and  all 
parts  of  Massachusetts.     As  it  grows  here,   the  trunk  is  rarely 


270       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

erect,  but  inclining  to  one  side,  with  a  darkish  bark  furrowed, 
on  old  trees,  with  pretty  deep  furrows.  The  branches  are  very 
spreading,  of  a  whitish  green,  with  long  dark  cracks.  The 
smaller  branches  are  of  a  greenish  yellow,  and  smooth.  The 
terminal  shoots  are  long,  slender,  dependent,  of  a  bright  yellow 
color.  The  leaves  are  long,  lanceolate,  finely  serrate,  tapering 
at  both  extremities,  of  a  polished  green  above  when  mature, 
whitish-glaucous  beneath,  more  or  less  covered  with  silky  hairs 
when  young.  The  footstalk  is  short,  often  with  a  dark  gland 
at  the  base  of  the  leaf  on  each  side. 

Sp.  15.     The  Weeping  Willow.    &  Babylonica.    L.  Introduced. 

The  tree  is  figured  in  Loudon,  VII,  Plate  207. 

Leaves  lanceolate,  acuminate,  finely  serrated,  glabrous,  glaucous  beneath; 
stipules  minute,  roundish  ;  aments  opening  with  the  leaves  ;  ovaries  ovate, 
sessile,  glabrous;  branches  pendulous. — Pvrsh.  11,614;  Willd.  IV,  671  ; 
Loudon,  III,  1507. 

A  native  of  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  near  Babylon,  of 
China,  and  of  the  north  of  Africa.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been 
introduced  into  Europe  by  the  celebrated  botanist,  Tournefort, 
the  great  predecessor  of  Linnaeus.  Tournefort  returned  from 
his  voyage  to  the  Levant  in  1702,  at  which  time  this  willow 
must  have  been  introduced.  It  is  now  extensively  cultivated, 
as  an  ornamental  tree,  in  those  parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  Asia, 
the  north  of  Africa,  and  America,  whose  climate  is  favorable  to 
its  growth.  It  is  almost  every  where  considered  a  funereal  tree, 
and  has,  in  many  places,  taken  the  place  of  the  cypress,  in 
church-yards.  To  no  other  willow  does  the  descriptive  line  of 
the  poet  of  nature  so  well  apply  : — 


and  gracefully 


The  willow,  a  perpetual  mourner,  drooped." 

It  is  found  in  most  parts  of  New  England,  although  the  cli- 
mate is  rather  too  cold  for  it,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
branches  often  fail  of  ripening  their  wood,  and  are  consequently 
killed  by  the  succeeding  winter. 

A  singular  variety  of  this  willow  called  the  ring-leaved  wil- 
low, with  curled  or  twisted  leaves,  is  cultivated  as  a  curiosity. 


VIII.     2.  THE  BLACK  WILLOW.  271 

Sp.  16.     The  Black  Willow.     S.  nigra.     Marshall. 

Leaves  figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  III,  Plate  125,  fig.  1,  and  in  Annals  of  Bot- 
any, II,  Plate  5,  fig.  5. 

Leaves  lanceolate,  rounded  at  base  when  young,  afterwards  acute  at  each 
end,  smoothish  and  green  on  both  surfaces,  the  upper  surface  of  the  footstalk 
and  mid-rib  downy  ;  stipules  roundish-heart-shaped,  pointed,  deciduous;  aments 
rather  long,  lax,  villous,  flexuose,  expanding  with  the  leaves  ;  filaments  four  to 
six,  bearded  at  base  ;  scales  small,  oblong,  spreading,  very  hairy ;  ovaries  on  a 
short  stalk,  brown,  ovate,  smooth  ;  style  short,  stigmas  notched  ;  young  shoots 
puberulent. — Hooker,  Fl.,  Bo?-.  Am.  II,  148  ;  Darlington,  559  ;  Pursh,  II, 
614  ;  Muhlenberg,  Ann.  of  BoL,  II,  65. 

A  small  tree,  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  growing  usually  on  the 
edge  of  streams  and  lakes,  and  bending  over  the  water.  The 
twigs  are  light  green,  downy,  rendered  slightly  angular  by  the 
continuance  downwards  of  the  vessels  of  the  leafstalk.  Leaves 
lanceolate,  very  downy  and  acute  when  young,  afterwards 
lengthening  much,  tapering  to  a  long  point,  and  becoming 
smooth,  often  somewhat  falcate,  serrate,  the  serratures  glandu- 
lar, green  on  both  surfaces,  finally  smooth,  except  the  mid-rib 
above,  and  sometimes  below.  Footstalks  short,  hairy,  some- 
times with  ferruginous  glands  near  the  base  of  the  leaf. 

Flowers  in  May;  capsules  ripe  in  June.  This  willow  be- 
comes larger,  further  south.  Darlington  says  it  is,  in  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania,  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  with  a  diam- 
eter of  from  eight  to  fifteen  inches,  and  a  dark-colored,  rough 
bark,  with  a  stem  often  crooked  or  leaning. 

Dr.  Barratt  says  that,  at  Middletown,  Connecticut,  "  The 
young  leaves,  in  flowering  time,  are  often  subcordate  at  the 
base,  and  distinguishable  by  the  white  pubescence  along  the 
mid-rib,  and  on  the  young  leaves.  In  Autumn,  the  leaves  are 
glabrous,  narrow,  and  mostly  falcate.  The  fine  twigs  of  this 
species  are  exceedingly  brittle  at  the  base.  It  is  known  to  bas- 
ket-makers as  the  '  wicker  willow,'  and  is  much  esteemed  for 
its  great  elasticity,  in  fine  kinds  of  wicker  work.  It  approaches 
the  nearest  of  any  of  the  native  willows  to  S.  triandra,  of  Eu- 
rope. This  is  the  last  of  the  willows  to  flower.  The  capsules 
ripen  in  about  a  calendar  month  ;  and  this  as  a  general  rule  will 
apply  to  the  rest  of  the  willows,   varying  but  little  in  ordinary 


272       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

seasons.     Flowers  May  18th  ;  capsules  ripe  June  18th." — Sali- 
ces  Am. 

Michaux  says  this  is  the  most  common  of  American  willows, 
that  it  is  multiplied  particularly  in  the  Middle  and  Western 
States,  and  is  found  along  the  banks  of  the  large  rivers.  He  found 
it  sometimes  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet  high  and  twelve  or  fifteen 
inches  in  diameter.  "  Upon  the  trunk  the  bark  is  grayish,  and 
finely  chapt ;  upon  the  roots  it  is  of  a  dark  brown,  whence  may 
have  been  derived  the  specific  name  of  the  tree.  The  roots  afford 
an  intensely  bitter  decoction,  which  is  considered  in  the  country 
a  purifier  of  the  blood,  and  a  preventive  and  remedy  for 
intermittent  fevers."* 

Sp.  17.     Pursh's  Willow.     &  Purshiana.     Sprengel. 

The  leaves  are  figured  as  those  of  the  Champlain  willow,  by  Michaux,  Sylva, 

III,  Plate  125,  figure  2. 

Leaves  very  long,  linear-lanceolate,  often  falcate,  gradually  tapering  above 
to  an  extremely  long,  slender  acumination,  acute  or  somewhat  rounded  at  base, 
closely  serrate,  of  a  uniform  green  on  both  surfaces,  and  smooth,  the  younger 
leaves,  particularly  on  the  mid-rib,  silky  ;  stipules  large,  broad-lunate  or  reni- 
form-cordate,  serrate,  often  deflexed  ;  female  aments  rather  long,  many-flow- 
ered, somewhat  lax;  scales  deciduous;  ovaries  ovate,  acuminate,  stalked, 
smooth  ;  style  very  short ;  stigmas  slightly  notched  ;  twigs  at  first  silky,  soon 
very  smooth. — Darlington,  560;  <S.  falcata.  Hooker,  Fl.  Bor.  Am.,  II,  149. 
Pursh,  II,  614. 

This  species  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  last,  but  may  be 
distinguished  by  the  very  long,  falcate  leaves,  and  large  cor- 
date or  broad-lunate,  usually  persistent  stipules. 

Pursh's  willow  is  a  slender  tree,  growing  on  the  banks  of 
streams  and  lakes,  in  situations  sometimes  overflown,  conspicu- 
ous for  its  remarkably  soft  and  delicate  foliage  and  graceful 
head.  It  sometimes  attains  to  the  height  of  forty  feet,  from  a 
base  of  but  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter.  It  is  often  much 
larger.  On  the  banks  of  the  Nashua  River,  in  Lancaster,  I 
measured  many  stems  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  one,  which,  at 
the  height  of  one  foot  from  the  ground,  was  five  feet  and  eight 
inches  in  circumference,  or  nearly  twenty -two  inches  in  diam- 

*  N.  A.  Sylva,  III.  78. 


VIII.     2.  PURSH'S  WILLOW.  273 

eter.  The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  very  rough,  scaly  bark. 
The  recent  branches  are  of  a  yellowish  green,  somewhat 
downy,  the  older  ones  grayish.  The  leaves  are  on  a  very  short 
footstalk,  silky-downy  above.  They  are  very  long  and  narrow, 
scythe-shaped,  lanceolate,  rounded  or  somewhat  acute  at  base, 
tapering  gradually  to  an  extremely  long  point,  finely  glandular- 
serrate,  smooth  and  shining,  and  of  the  same  color  on  both  sur- 
faces, which  are,  by  the  twisting  of  the  petiole,  presented  almost 
equally  to  the  light.  The  mid-rib  is  slightly  prominent  beneath 
and  somewhat  silky  above,  and  sometimes  beneath.  The  ve- 
nation is  minutely  reticulate,  the  secondary  nerves  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  veins.  Each  leaf,  before  expanding, 
closely  embraces  those  within  it,  and  is,  at  that  time,  covered 
with  a  soft,  silken  down.  The  stipules  are  very  conspicuous, 
semi-lunar  or  ear -shaped,  auricled,  pointed  above,  nearly  em- 
bracing the  new  shoot,  and  glandular-serrate.  The  branches 
slender,  extremely  brittle  at  base,  even  when  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter, extremely  tough  above.  Aments  expanding  with  the 
leaves,  and  borne  on  the  end  of  a  short,  leafy  branchlet,  two 
inches  long,  and  having,  on  its  lower  half,  four  or  five  short 
leaves.  On  the  female  anient,  the  scales  are  soon  gone,  exposing 
the  brownish,  downy,  but  not  silky  stem :  the  seed-vessels  are 
nearly  sessile,  ovate  acuminate,  yellowish  green,  finally  light- 
brown,  terminated  by  the  two  nearly  sessile,  black  stigmas; 
ripe,  in  Worcester  County,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  or  before. 
In  Middletown,  according  to  Dr.  Barratt,  the  flowers  expand 
May  18,  and  the  capsules  are  ripe  June  18.  He  says  that  this 
tree  is  there  smaller  than  the  black  willow,  and  the  twigs  are 
finer ;  and  that  the  twigs  are  equally  valuable,  for  fine  wicker 
work,  with  those  of  that  willow.  Pursh's  willow  is  a  more 
northern  tree  than  the  black. 

The  effect  of  the  mass  of  foliage  of  Pursh's  willow,  in  the 
situations  in  which  it  is  found,  is  striking  and  agreeable.  The 
softness  of  the  light  reflected  from  it,  without  the  changeable- 
ness.  distinguishes  it  from  the  other  willows ;  and  the  great 
length  and  slenderness  of  the  stem  give  a  peculiarly  gentle 
motion  to  the  whole  mass,  when  acted  on  by  the  wind. 
36 


274       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Group  Seventh.     The  Ochre  Flowered  Willows.     Fulvce.    Barratt. 

Male  aments  rather  short,  cylindrical,  expanding  with  the 
leaves,  tawny  or  ochre-colored ;  scales  yellow  ;  stamens  two,  long, 
diverging,  expanding  first  from  the  base  of  the  ament.  Female 
aments  lax,  finally  lengthened ;  ovaries  on  long  stalks,  silky, 
narrow-lanceolate.  A  shrub  with  dichotomous  branches  and  tough 
twigs. — Barratt. 

Sp.  18.     The  Beaked  Willow.     S.  roslrdia.     Richardson. 

Branches  erect,  rather  close,  pubescent,  finally  smooth  ;  leaves  broad  or  ob- 
ovate-lanceolate,  acute,  very  entire,  serrate,  submembranaceous,  becoming  sub- 
coriaceous,  rather  naked  above,  glaucous  and  whitish-downy  beneath  ;  stipules 
semicordate,  dentate;  male  aments  rather  short,  cylindrical,  dense-flowered; 
female  at  last  very  long  and  lax  ;  scales  oblong,  membranaceous,  hairy  at  the 
apex,  nearly  as  long  as  the  stalk;  ovaries  narrow-lanceolate,  silky,  with  a 
long  acumination,  on  a  very  long  stalk  ;  style  very  short ;  lobes  of  the  stigma 
notched  or  entire. — Richardson,  Appendix,  p.  37,  as  quoted  by  Hooker,  Fl. 
Bor.  Am.,  II,  147. 

This  is  a  distinct  and  well  characterized  willow,  found  grow- 
ing in  every  variety  of  soil,  more  frequently  in  dry,  but  flour- 
ishing best  in  one  moderately  rich  and  moist,  in  open  woods,  or 
by  the  sides  of  forests.  It  is  a  shrub  or  small  tree,  from  three 
or  four,  to  ten  or  twelve,  or  even  fifteen  feet  high. 

The  stem  is  reddish  or  olive-green,  or  gray,  striated,  with 
an  orange-grayish,  or  clay-colored  epidermis.  The  shoots  are 
downy,  of  a  reddish  purple,  or  yellowish,  or  reddish  above, 
where  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  green  beneath.  In  drying,  they 
turn  to  a  brown  or  dark  purple.  The  leaves  are  on  short, 
downy  footstalks ;  obovate,  oblong-elliptical,  or  broad  lanceolate, 
often  inequilateral,  rounded  or  tapering  at  base,  acuminate  on 
the  ends  of  the  branches  and  recent  shoots,  with  the  acumina- 
tion turned  half  round ;  near  the  stem,  shorter  and  broader, 
pointed,  or  obtuse;  downy,  or  smooth,  but  with  the  surface 
always  conspicuously  netted  with  depressed  veins  above,  and 
white-downy  beneath.  Margin  entire  or  waved,  crenulate  or 
serrate,  the  serratures  ending  in  a  black  point.  The  stipules 
are  ear-shaped,  often  nearly  entire,  sometimes  cleft  to  the  base, 


VIII.     2.       THE  HEART-LEAVED  WILLOW.  275 

sometimes  toothed,  and  pointed  above  and  below,  or  serrate. 
The  leaves,  when  young,  are  downy  on  both  surfaces. 

This  willow  seems  to  be  nearly  allied  to  S.  tristis,  through 
the  variety  called  by  Pursh  &  recurvdta  ;  and  connects  them 
with  S.  conifcra.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  high  authority  of  Dr. 
Barratt,  I  should  have  associated  this  with  the  cinereous  group. 

Group  Eighth.     The  Cordate  Willows.     Cordata.     Barratt. 

Aments  slightly  stalked,  ovate,  cylindrical,  expanding  with 
the  leaves.  Scales  subciliate,  red  or  yellowish.  Stamens  two  or 
three.  Ovaries  stalked,  smooth.  Leaves  cordate,  or  attenuate 
at  base,  smooth.  Stipules  half -heart-shaped,  serrate.  Tall  shrubs 
with  dichotomous,  flexible,  smooth  branches. — Barratt. 

"  The  aments  in  this  section  are  invested  with  a  double  cov- 
ering: the  outer  being  a  hard  scale  or  shield;  the  inner,  a  thin 
membranous  envelope.  This  last  is  generally  ruptured  trans- 
versely, and  is  elevated  like  a  cap  or  calyptra  on  the  summit  of 
the  expanding  anient.  This  membrane  is  sometimes  found  ad- 
hering to  the  inner  surface  of  the  hard  scale  or  shield.  It  is 
most  perfectly  formed  in  S.  Torreydna,  and  next  in  S.  corddta. 
Both  these  species  of  willow  begin  to  expand  their  filaments  at 
the  apex  of  the  aments.  The  floral  leaves  (four  or  five)  are 
from  half  to  three  quarters  of  an  inch  long.  The  fertile  aments 
of  &  rigida,  the  largest  of  this  section,  when  ripe,  form  a  densely 
fruited  raceme  three  to  four  inches  long.  The  mature  germens 
are  sub-rhomboidal  at  the  base,  and  somewhat  flattened,  vary- 
ing in  color  from  green  to  a  reddish  brown." — Barratt. 

Sp.  19.    The  Heart-leaved  Willow.     &  corddta.    Willdenow. 

Leaf  figured  in  Annals  of  Botany,  II,  Plate  V,  fig.  3. 

Leaves  oblong,  lanceolate,  acuminate,  heart-shaped,  rarely  acute  at  base, 
sharply  serrate,  smooth,  paler  beneath  ;  stipules  large,  ovate-roundish,  cartila- 
ginous-serrate ;  aments  expanding  with  the  leaves  ;  stamens  about  three  ;  scales 
lanceolate,  woolly,  black  ;  ovaries  stalked,  lanceolate,  smooth  ;  style  very  short; 
stigmas  cleft. — Hooker,  Fl.  Bor.  Am.,  II,  149.  Pursh,  II,  615.  Willdenow, 
IV,  666.     Muhlenberg,  Ann.  Bot.,  II,  64. 

This  is  a  beautiful  low  tree,  varying  from  eight  or  ten.  to 
twelve    or   fifteen,  and  even  twenty  or  more   feet   in   height. 


276  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Stem  brown,  or,  on  older  stalks,  ashy-gray  or  clay-colored. 
Branches  greenish  brown,  or  bright  green,  or  bronze  yellow, 
smooth ;  recent  shoots  varying,  on  the  same  stem,  from  bright 
to  faint  yellow,  dusty  or  downy  white,  and  apple-green.  Buds 
yellow,  tipped  with  reddish,  downy.  Leaves  usually  some- 
what crowded,  and  then  very  cordate  at  base,  at  other  times 
scattered,  and  rounded  at  base ;  folded  back,  in  the  bud,  cov- 
ered with  silky  pubescence  when  young,  smooth  above,  glau- 
cous beneath  when  mature ;  flat,  waving,  or  recurved,  ovate- 
lanceolate  or  broad-lanceolate,  tapering  to  a  somewhat  long 
point.  Male  aments  an  inch  long;  female,  one  and  a  half 
inches. 

This  willow  is  found  on  the  streams  of  Canada  as  far  as  the 
Saskatchawan.  It  abounds  on  the  Connecticut,  Nashua,  and 
other  rivers  of  this  State,  and  is  found  in  New  York,  and  as 
far  south  as  Virginia,  presenting  some  remarkable  varieties. 
The  roots  form  large,  tangled  masses,  on  the  sides  of  streams, 
and  are  much  larger  than  the  stems  proceeding  from  them. 
Dr.  Barratt  says  it  furnishes  excellent  twigs  for  basket-work. 

Sp.  20.     The  Stiff-leaved  Willow.     S.  rigida.     Muhlenberg. 

Leaf  figured  in  Annals  of  Botany,  II,  Plate  5,  fig.  4. 

Leaves  oblong-lanceolate,  acuminate,  subcordate  at  base,  stiff,  smooth, 
sharply  serrate,  the  lower  serrature  elongate,  with  a  cartilaginous  point;  foot- 
stalks rather  long,  hairy  ;  stipules  large,  cordate,  obtuse,  glandular-serrate  ; 
aments  expanding  with  the  leaves  ;  stamens  about  three  ;  scales  lanceolate, 
black,  woolly  ;  ovaries  on  long  stalks,  lanceolate,  smooth  ;  style  very  short  ; 
stigmas  bipartite. — Wil/denow,  IV,  667.  Pursh,  II,  615.  Hooker,  Fl.  Bor. 
Am.,  IT,  149.     Muhlenberg,  Ann.  of  Bot.,  II,  64. 

A  more  vigorous  or  coarser  looking  plant  than  the  last,  re- 
sembling it  very  much,  but  distinguished  by  the  length  of  its 
hairy  petioles,  the  coarseness  of  the  serration  of  the  leaves,  and 
the  prolongation  and  stiffness  of  the  lower  serrature. 

It  is  a  handsome  small  tree,  sometimes  fifteen  feet  high. 
The  stem  is  grayish,  rather  smooth,  erect  and  slender,  or  pros- 
trate along  the  banks  of  streams,  where  its  large  roots,  with 
those  of  S.  cordafa,  S.  lucida,  and  &  nigra,  form  dense  and 
strong  bulwarks  against  the  action  of  the  stream.    The  branches 


VIII.     2.  TORREY'S  WILLOW.  277 

are  grayish  green,  or  gray ;  the  recent  shoots  a  bronze  yellow, 
often  clouded,  brownish  and  downy ;  often  bright  red  where 
exposed  to  much  light.  The  lower  serratures  of  the  leaves  are 
enlarged,  prolonged  and  rigid. 

It  is  found  between  Fort  Franklin  and  Cumberland  House, 
in  British  America,  and  in  Pennsylvania.  In  this  State,  I  have 
found  it  on  the  Hoosic,  abundantly  on  the  Connecticut,  about 
the  pond  in  Westminster  from  whence  flows  the  Nashua,  and 
along  the  banks  of  that  river. 

"  This  strong  and  handsome  species  furnishes  excellent  twigs 
and  rods  for  the  heaviest  kinds  of  basket-work.  This  willow 
and  S.  corddta  are  very  ornamental  in  groves  and  plantations. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  &  rigidu,  and  of  the  aments  I 
have  met  with  great  diversity.  The  largest  of  these  catkins 
are  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  long,  and  when  the  flowering 
season  is  fine,  and  the  catkins  have  escaped  being  drenched  with 
rain,  I  have  found  these  flowers  of  great  beauty,  exhibiting  a 
play  of  colors  from  violet  or  purple  to  yellow ;  as  the  stamens 
rise  over  the  tips  of  the  scales  from  their  downy  bed,  they  yield 
the  resplendent  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  this  zone  is  carried 
symmetrically  onward,  by  the  successive  elongation  of  the  fila- 
ments."— Barratt. 

Sp.  21.     Torrey's  Willow.     S.  Torreyana.     Barratt. 

Leaves  heart-ovate,  sharply  pointed,  one  and  a  half  inches  wide,  four  inches 
long;  margin  wavy  and  finely  serrate  ;  above  smooth,  deep  green,  beneath 
paler  ;  stipules  large,  one  half  to  three  quarters  of  an  inch  broad,  half-heart- 
shaped.  Male  ament  slender;  when  expanded,  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches 
long  ;  scales  imbricate,  lanceolate,  blackish  and  ciliate  ;  stamens  two,  filaments 
rather  short.  Female  ament,  rachis  slender,  clothed  with  soft,  dull  white 
hairs.  Germens  on  short  pedicels,  smooth,  deltoid-lanceolate  ;  stigma  four- 
parted  ;  in  flowering  time,  flesh-colored,  mature  capsules  green,  somewhat 
compressed,  twigs  tough,  smooth,  greenish  purple.  Adult  leaves  coriaceous. 
— Barratt. 

Flowers  April  12—18  in  Middletown. 

Dr.  Barratt  named  this  hitherto  undescribed  willow  in  honor 
of  his  friend  Professor  Torrey  of  New  York. 

'•This  ornamental  willow  seldom  exceeds  eight  or  ten  feet  in 
height :  and  will  be  readily  recognized  in  autumn  from  the  other 


278        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

willows  of  this  fine  group,  by  its  broad,  heart-shaped,  glossy, 
deep-green  leaves,  wavy  margin,  and  sharp  point ;  also  by  its 
large  stipules.  The  staminate  plant,  in  flowering  time,  may 
also  be  distinguished  by  its  long  and  slender  catkins,  and  the 
absence  of  the  irised  ring  or  zone,  exhibited  by  S.  rigida  and 
S.  cordata  in  flowering  time,  when  the  anthers  are  elevated 
above  their  respective  scales  and  short  fine  hairs.  The  pis- 
tillate plant  may  also  be  distinguished  early  in  spring  by  its 
delicate,  flesh-colored,  four-parted  stigma.  The  leaves  do  not 
blacken  in  drying;  it  is  very  distinct  from  IS.  rigida  and  iS. 
cordata.  This  is  probably  one  of  the  best  native  willows  we 
possess,  for  protecting  the  banks  of  rivers  with  rapid  currents. 
It  does  not  grow  as  high,  and  is  more  disposed  to  spread  in 
these  situations  than  its  congeners,  S.  cordata  and  >$".  rigida. 
It  furnishes  abundance  of  stout  twigs  or  rods." — Barratt. 

I  found  this  beautiful  willow  growing  abundantly  along  the 
banks  of  the  Connecticut,  in  Longmeadow  and  Springfield,  and 
also  on  the  plains  between  the  Arsenal  and  Chicopee  Falls. 
As  found  growing  on  the  uplands,  it  is  a  showy  plant,  six  or 
eight  feet  high,  stem  erect  or  bending,  of  a  light  gray  color  with 
blackish  clouds.  Branches  long,  bending  upwards,  of  a  shining 
gray.  Twigs  bronzed  or  yellowish- green,  with  a  red  or  pur- 
plish hue  above.  Stipules  very  large,  half-heart-shaped,  round- 
ed above,  often  folded  around  the  leaf  so  as  to  appear  double. 
Leaves  rich  and  luxuriant,  hearted  or  rounded  at  base,  broad, 
oblong-lanceolate,  tapering  gradually  to  a  long  point ;  footstalks 
short. 

There  is  a  great  resemblance  between  the  last  three  willows, 
and  it  is  only  by  very  attentive  study  that  they  can  be  clearly 
distinguished.  Torrey's  willow  has  doubtless  been  confounded 
with  the  two  previous,  until  Dr.  Barratt,  by  planting  them  side 
by  side,  has  availed  himself  of  the  opportunities  thus  presented 
of  comparing  them  in  all  stages  of  their  growth,  and  at  all 
seasons. 

I  have  specimens  from  Williamstown,  of  what  Dr.  Barratt 
tells  me  is  &  angustata  of  Pursh,  but  I  have  had  no  opportu- 
nity of  particularly  examining  the  plant.  I  had  taken  it  for 
a  narrow-leaved  variety  of  $.  cordata. 


IX.  THE  BREAD-FRUIT  FAMILY.  279 


FAMILY  IX.     THE   BREAD-FRUIT   FAMILY.     ARTOCARPEJE. 

Brown. 

This  family  consists,  with  a  single  exception,  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  with  alternate,  toothed,  or  lobed,  or  entire  leaves,  and 
milky  juice.  They  are  natives  of  tropical  regions,  two  or  three 
genera,  Morus,  Broussonetia  and  Madura,  being  found  towards 
the  north,  and  a  single  species  of  Morus,  as  far  as  Canada. 

To  this  family  belongs  the  famous  Upas  tree,  Antidris,  of 
Java,  which  has  long  been  considered  the  most  deadly  poison  in 
the  world.  And  here  also,  in  strange  companionship,  are  the 
Bread-fruit  Tree,  the  Fig,  the  Mulberry,  the  Osage  Orange,  and 
the  Fustic,  a  kind  of  mulberry  whose  wood  furnishes  the  well- 
known  yellow  dye.  The  juice  of  all  is  remarkable  for  being 
milky,  and  contains  a  considerable  portion  of  caoutchouc.  It 
is,  even  in  those  that  produce  wholesome  fruit,  usually  acrid 
and  of  a  suspicious  character,  and  sometimes  poisonous.  Yet 
here  also  we  find  the  Palo  di  Vacca,  the  famous  Cow-tree  of 
South  America,  which  yields  a  large  supply  of  rich  and  whole- 
some milk;  and  the  fruit  of  several  of  the  plants,  besides  those 
already  mentioned,  are  eatable.  Many  virtues  are  ascribed  to 
the  various  kinds  of  fig.  The  Ficus  religibsa,  the  Indian  Fig, 
or  Banyan  tree  of  India,  is  justly  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  sig- 
nal favors  of  Providence  to  tropical  India,  furnishing  to  the 
traveller  a  natural  temple,  thick  shade,  and  refreshing  fruit. 

This  family  is  distinguished  by  having  its  fruit  usually  situ- 
ated on  or  within  a  fleshy  receptacle,  covered  by  numerous  nuts 
or  drupes, — rarely  a  single  one, — enveloped  by  a  fleshy  or  pulpy 
involucre,  and  forming  a  compound  fruit,  like  many  berries  or 
fleshy  fruits  grown  together.  The  name  Artocarpcce,  was  given 
by  De  Candolle  to  a  section  of  the  nettle  family,  to  indicate  the 
most  important  tree  of  this  group,  (the  Arlocarpus,  literally 
bread-fruit.)  and  the  fleshy  character  of  the  fruit, 

The  genera  that  are  found  native  or  cultivated  in  this  climate 
are  Moms.  Broussonetia,  and  Madura.  The  only  one  native 
is, — 


280        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


THE  MULBERRY  TREE.     MORUS.     L. 

The  flowers  of  the  two  sexes  are  usually  on  the  same  plant, 
sometimes  on  distinct  plants.  The  male  flowers  are  in  a  droop- 
ing, axillary  spike,  with  a  calyx  of  four-parted  sepals  and  four 
stamens.  Female  flowers  in  ovate,  dense,  erect  spikes;  calyx  of 
four  sepals,  concave,  becoming  pulpy  and  juicy.  Ovary  of  two 
cells,  one  having  one  pendulous  ovule,  the  other  none.  Stigmas 
two,  long.  When  ripe,  each  ovary  is  a  fleshy  nut  covered  by 
the  fleshy  calyx;  the  aggregate  from  a  spike  of  flowers  forming 
the  compound  berry. 

The  several  species  are  trees,  with  white  sap,  and  alternate, 
rough,  usually  lobed,  leaves,  which  are  the  favorite  food  of  the 
silk-worm,  the  caterpillar  of  the  Bombyx  Mori7  but  are  hardly 
attacked  by  any  other  insect.  There  are  ten  or  more  species, 
two  of  which  have  been  known  from  remote  times. 

The  only  species  natural  to  New  England,  is — 

The  Red  Mulberry.     M.  rubra.     L. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  III,  Plate  11(5  ;  and  in  Loudon's  Arboretum,  VII, 

Plate  183. 

This  species  naturally  grows  farther  north  than  any  other 
mulberry.  Pursh  speaks  of  it  as  growing  in  the  Middle  States; 
Michaux  thinks  it  is  not  found  east  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
or  north  of  Lake  Champlain.  According  to  Darlington,  it  some- 
times reaches  the  height  of  thirty  feet  in  Pennsylvania,  and  a 
diameter  of  from  twelve  to  twenty  inches,  with  numerous 
spreading  branches  at  top.  But  Michaux  found  it,  in  the  upper 
part  of  that  State  and  in  Virginia,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high, 
and  sometimes  two  feet  in  diameter.  According  to  all  who 
have  spoken  of  it,  the  wood  is  exceedingly  hard,  strong,  and 
durable.  Michaux  says  it  is  almost  as  durable  as  the  locust, 
and  by  many  persons  esteemed  quite  equal  to  it.  In  the  south- 
ern ports,  all  that  can  be  obtained  of  it  is  employed  in  ship- 
building, and  it  is  preferred  to  every  other  wood  except  locust, 
for  treenails.  For  posts,  also,  it  is  highly  valued,  from  its  dura- 
bility when  exposed  to  the  weather.     In  boat-building,  and  for 


IX.  THE  RED  MULBERRY.  281 

the  light  timber  of  vessels,  it  is  preferred  in  Carolina   to  any- 
wood  except  the  red  cedar.* 

The  use  of  its  leaves  as  food  for  silk-worms,  has  been  tried, 
but  not  with  encouraging  success.  The  fruit  is  very  agreeable, 
and  by  most  persons  is  preferred  to  that  of  any  other  species. 

I  have  found  it  growing  wild  on  the  Westfield  River,  where 
it  is  a  small  tree  about  twenty  feet  in  height,  like  an  apple  tree. 
The  recent  shoots  are  gray,  and  somewhat  downy.  Larger 
branches,  a  light  gray  or  brownish  buff",  smooth,  with  prominent 
gray  dots.  Trunk  rough,  with  long  superficial  clefts  and  fur- 
rows. The  leaves  are  heart-shaped,  ovate*  or  three-lobed,  end- 
ing in  a  long  point,  rough  on  the  upper  surface,  and  downy  on 
the  lower. 

The  Black  Mulberry,  M.  nigra,  L.,  is  occasionally  cultivated 
here,  as  it  has  been  in  most  parts  of  the  civilized  world  from 
very  ancient  times,  for  ornament,  and  for  its  shade.  It  is  sup- 
posed, from  the  circumstance  of  its  being  found,  in  great  num- 
bers, wild  in  the  forests  of  Persia,  to  have  been  originally  a 
native  of  that  country,  and  to  have  been  introduced  thence,  at 
a  very  remote  period,  into  Europe;  and  others  think  it  probable 
that  it  was  brought,  at  a  still  more  remote  period,  into  Persia, 
from  China.  Its  leaves  are  of  no  great  value  as  food  for  the 
silk-worm,  and  its  wood  has  not  much  strength  or  durability. 

Several  of  the  numerous  varieties  of  the  White  Mulberry, 
M.  alba,  L.,  have  been  introduced,  and  are  much  cultivated  in 
this  country,  with  reference  to  the  production  of  silk,  the  leaves 
having  been  long  considered  the  natural  and  best  food  for  the 
silk- worm.  None  of  the  varieties  are  so  hardy  as  the  black 
and  red  mulberries — and  their  range  of  climate  is  much  less 
extensive.  Its  native  country  is  China  ;  but  it  has  been  natu- 
ralized in  several  parts  of  Europe,  and  it  flourishes  in  all  the 
temperate  parts  of  this  continent.  It  is  a  rapidly  growing 
tree,  reaching  the  height  of  twenty  feet  in  five  or  six  years, 
and  when  fully  grown,  attaining  that  of  thirty  or  forty  feet. 

The  Many-stemmed  Mulberry,  M.  multlcaulis,  is  a  native 
of  China,  where  it  is  said  to  be  preferred   for   the  food  of  silk- 

*  Elliott. 

37 


282        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

worms.  Perrottet  brought  it  from  Manilla  to  Senegal  in  1821  t 
and,  some  years  afterwards,  to  Europe.  It  has  been  extensively 
propagated  in  this  country,  and  affords  a  great  abundance  of 
more  delicate  leaves  than  those  of  any  other  mulberry ;  and  the 
silk  formed  by  worms  feeding  on  them,  is  considered  very  ex- 
cellent, perhaps  superior  to  any  other. 

The  Paper  Mulberry,  Brousso?ietia  papyrifera,  so  much  re- 
sembles a  mulberry  tree  in  its  general  appearance,  that  it  has 
until  recently  been  included  in  that  genus.  It  is  a  low,  thick- 
branched  tree,  with  large,  light  colored,  downy  or  hairy  leaves, 
and  dark  scarlet  fruit.  It  is  very  hardy,  grows  rapidly,  has 
considerable  beauty,  and  might  be  introduced  as  an  ornamental 
tree,  but  is  of  no  value  for  its  wood.  It  receives  its  specific 
name  from  the  fact  that,  in  Japan  and  China,  of  which  it  is  a 
native,  its  bark  is  manufactured  into  paper.  In  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  where  also  it  is  found,  the  bark  is  made  into  the  curi- 
ous dresses  which  we  sometimes  see  imported  thence. 

The  Osage  Orange,  Madura  aurantlaca,  is  a  native  of  the 
banks  of  the  Arkansas,  and  other  regions  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. Its  name  was  given  by  Nultall  in  honor  of  William 
Maclure,  a  liberal  and  distinguished  patron  of  the  Natural 
Sciences  in  North  America.  It  is  a  beautiful,  low,  spreading, 
round-headed  tree,  with  the  port  and  splendor  of  an  orange 
tree.  Its  oval,  entire,  pointed  leaves,  have  the  polished,  shining 
green  of  natives  of  warmer  regions,  and  its  curiously  tesselated, 
succulent,  compound  fruit,  the  size  and  golden  color  of  an  or- 
ange. 

The  male  and  female  flowers,  which  are  green  and  incon- 
spicuous, are  found  on  different  trees;  and  different  kinds 
must  grow  in  immediate  vicinity,  in  order  that  the  fruit  may  be 
fertile.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  I  saw,  in  the  Au- 
tumn of  1839,  some  fine  specimens  of  this  tree,  several  of 
which  were  loaded  with  fruit.  I  have  rarely  seen  an  object  in 
the  vegetable  world  more  strikingly  beautiful. 

It  was  first  introduced  into  St.  Louis  from  the  country  of  the 
Osage  Indians,  and  thence  received  the  name,  which  it  well  de- 
serves, of  Osage  Orange.     It  has  since  been  cultivated  in  many 


IX.  THE  OSAGE  ORANGE.  283 

parts  of  this  country  and  Europe,  and  has  ripened  fruit  in  sev- 
eral places  in  the  south  of  France.  It  seems  to  be  perfectly- 
hardy  in  the  latitude  of  Boston,  as,  at  Nonantum  Hill,  in  New- 
ton, it  has  been  found  by  Mr.  Kenrick  to  have  endured  without 
injury  the  rigors  of  the  last  ten  winters. 

The  wood  seems  likely  to  be  of  great  value.  It  is  of  a  rich 
saffron  yellow,  whence  it  is  sometimes  called  Yellow  Wood,  and 
resembles  the  Madura  tinctbria,  a  tree  of  the  West  Indies,  in 
yielding  a  yellow  dye.  It  is  of  a  fine  close  grain,  and  very 
elastic,  and  is  preferred  by  the  Indians,  to  make  their  bows 
with,  and  thence  called  Bow  Wood.  It  is  hard  and  durable,  and 
is  said  to  receive  a  beautiful  polish.  It  must  therefore  be  valu- 
able to  cabinet-makers.  It  is  said  to  rival  even  the  live  oak  in 
durability  as  ship  timber.  From  the  bark,  as  from  that  of  the 
Paper  Mulberry,  a  fibrous  substance  resembling  fine  white  flax, 
may  be  formed.  The  use  of  its  leaves  as  a  substitute  for  those 
of  the  White  Mulberry  for  feeding  silk-worms,  seems  to  be  of 
doubtful  success. 

It  is  easily  propagated  by  layers,  and  by  cuttings  of  the  root. 
Loudon  says  that,  in  the  vicinity  of  London,  a  plant  cut  down 
after  having  been  two  or  three  years  established,  throws  up 
shoots  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  nearly  half  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter, in  a  single  season. 


284        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PLANTS    WHOSE   FLOWERS    ARE    WITHOUT   PETALS,    AND   NOT    ARRANGED 

IN   AMENTS. 

FAMILY  X.     THE  ELM  FAMILY.     ULMACEJE.    Mirbel. 

The  members  of  this  family,   several  of  which,  in  our  own 
country,  are  among  the  noblest  and  most  valuable  timber  trees, 
are  natives  of  the  northern    temperate  regions  of  both  conti- 
nents, being  found  in  North  America  and  Europe,  in   China, 
and  the  other  northern  countries  of  Asia,  and  in  the  mountains 
of  India.     They  are  allied,  botanically,  to  the  Nettle  Family  on 
the  one  hand,  and  to  the  Bread  Fruit  on  the  other,  however 
different  they  may  be  in  their  general  aspect.     They  are  not  dis- 
tinguished by  any  remarkable  properties.     The  bark  of  several 
species  is  tough  and  fibrous,  and  susceptible  of  being  used  for  rude 
cordage ;  the  substance  which  exudes  spontaneously  from  the 
bark  of  the  elm,  and  thence  called  ulmin,  is  also  found  in  that 
*of  the  oak  and  chestnut,  and  is  said  by  Berzelius  to  be  a  con- 
stituent of  most  kinds  of  bark.     The  plants  belonging  to  this 
family  are  trees  with  simple,  serrate,  roughish,  unequal-sided 
leaves,  which  are  usually  alternate  in  two  rows  on  the  sides  of 
the  branches.     The  flowers  are  in  fascicles  on   the  sides  of  the 
branchlets,  and  furnished  usually  with  stamens  and  pistils,  but 
sometimes  wanting  the  latter.     The  flower-cup  is  erect,  some- 
what bell-shaped,  with  its  border  divided  into  four,  five,  six,  or 
eight  lobes.     The  stamens  spring  from  the  bottom  of  the  cup, 
and  are  usually  of  the  same  number  as  the  lobes,  and  opposite 
them.     The  ovary  has  one  cell  and  one  ovule,  and  is  crowned 
with  two  styles.     The  fruit  is  a  flattened,  winged  samara,  or  a 
drupe. 

There  are  two  genera  found  in  this  State,  the  Elm,  U'lrnus, 
whose  fruit  is  a  samara;  and  the  Nettle  Tree,  Celtis,  whose 
fruit  is  a  stone  fruit  or  drupe.  A  third  genus,  Planera,  is  found 
in  the  Southern  States,  and  might  be  cultivated  here. 


X.     1.  THE  ELM.  285 


1.     THE  ELM.     ULMUS*     Linn. 

The  elms  are  all  long-lived  trees,  with  hard  wood,  consisting 
of  twisted  and  interlaced  fibres,  alternate,  deciduous,  harsh, 
serrated  leaves,  inequilateral  at  base.  The  flowers  come  out, 
early  in  the  Spring,  before  the  leaves,  in  small,  dark-red,  fringe- 
like tufts,  and  are  soon  succeeded  by  the  peculiar  fruit  called  a 
samara,  consisting  of  a  small,  central,  thin  membrane,  contain- 
ing a  seed,  and  bordered  by  a  thin,  wing-like  margin.  This 
becomes  mature  and  falls,  when  the  leaves  are  expanding.  The 
buds  are  covered  with  six  or  seven  coriaceous  scales,  overlying 
each  other  in  two  rows  ;  those  which  contain  flowers  are  large 
and  arranged  on  the  sides  of  the  branchlets  of  the  preceding 
year.  The  leaves  have  short  stalks,  are  rough,  unequally  and 
doubly  serrate,  acuminate,  and  vary  much  in  size  and  shape. 
So  are  the  membranaceous  stipules,  a  pair  of  which  embrace  each 
leaf  within  the  bud,  and  at  the  same  time  protect  the  leaves 
which  are  to  succeed  from  the  same  bud.  The  roots  of  most 
of  the  species  are  strong,  very  tough,  supple,  and  spreading  ex- 
tensively beneath  the  surface.  When  raised  from  seed,  the  dif- 
ferent species  have  a  striking  tendency  to  vary,  and  in  Europe, 
where,  for  its  uses  in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  and 
for  ornament  and  shade,  it  has  been  constantly  cultivated  since 
the  time  of  the  Romans,  the  varieties  are  very  numerous.  The 
same  tendency  may  be  observed,  in  the  variation  of  shape  and 
habit,  in  the  native  elms  of  different  parts  of  New  England,  and 
even  of  Massachusetts. 

Their  growth  is  rapid ;  they  bear  transplanting  and  pruning 
better  than  almost  any  other  tree ;  they  grow  on  almost  any  soil, 
and  have  a  great  variety  of  beauty,  and  their  timber  is  valuable 
for  many  purposes,  and  bears  continual  exposure  to  moisture 
without  decay.  Perhaps,  therefore,  no  trees  are  greater  favorites, 
or  more  deservedly  so.  On  the  continent  of  Europe,  where  the 
variety  of  forest  timber  trees  is  much  smaller  than  in  America,  the 
elm  is  applied  to  a  great  number  of  uses,  for  which  other  trees 

*  The  Latin  word  Ulmus  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  Saxon  word  elm 
or  ulm,  which  is  given  as  the  name  of  this  tree  in  almost  every  Saxon  dialect. 


286        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

are  here  preferred,  as  the  wood  has  the  disadvantage  of  being 
liable  to  warp  and  shrink,  unless  very  long  and  thoroughly  sea- 
soned, or  kept  moist.  Both  living  and  dead,  it  is  liable  to  the 
attacks  of  insects  and  worms,  which  strip  it  of  its  foliage,  pen- 
etrate into  its  bark  and  wood,  and  lessen  the  value  of  its  timber. 

A  great  many  insects  feed  upon  its  leaves.  The  most  per- 
nicious, if  not  the  most  universal  of  these,  are  the  canker-worms, 
(Anisopteryx  vernata  and  pometarid)  one  or  two  species  of 
which,  with  their  habits,  times  and  mode  of  destruction,  have 
been  carefully  described  by  Dr.  Harris,  (Report,  p.  334 — 341.) 
Less  injurious  are  the  span-worms,  called,  when  arrived  at  their 
perfect  moth  state,  Hybernia  tiliaria,  the  Lime-tree  winter- 
moth,  (ib.,  pp.  341,  342.)  The  Cimbex  ulmi  a  species  of  saw- 
fly,  (ib.,  pp.  374,  375,)  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  the  elm,  during 
its  caterpillar  existence,  and  the  caterpillars  of  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  moths  and  butterflies,  such  as  the  stinging  cat- 
erpillars of  the  Saturnia  moth ;  (ib.,  p.  283,)  the  caterpillars  of 
the  Antiopa  butterfly,  (ib.,  p.  219,)  of  the  Semicolon  butterfly, 
Vanessa  inter rogationis ;  (ib.,  p.  220,)  of  the  Progne  butterfly, 
Vanessa  progne,  (ib.,  p.  222,)  and  the  enormous  caterpillars  of 
the  Ceratomia  quadricornis,  which  are  sometimes  three  inches 
and  a  half  long,  (ib.,  p.  227),  are  all  found  on  this  tree,  and  do 
more  or  less  harm  by  devouring  its  leaves. 

There  are  two  species  of  elm  common  in  Massachusetts,  the 
American,  and  the  Slippery  Elm ;  another  is  sometimes  found 
indigenous ;  and  two  varieties  of  the  European  Elm  have  been 
introduced. 

Sp.    1.     The  American  Elm.     White     Elm.      Ulmus    Ameri- 
cana.    L. 

The  American  elm  is,  in  most  parts  of  the  State,  the  most 
magnificent  tree  to  be  seen.  From  a  root,  which,  in  old  trees, 
spreads  much,  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  trunk  rises 
to  a  considerable  height  in  a  single  stem.  Here  it  usually  di- 
vides into  two  or  three  principal  branches,  which  go  off  by 
a  gradual  and  easy  curve.  These  stretch  upwards  and  out- 
wards with  an  airy  sweep, — become  horizontal,  the  extreme 


X.     1.  THE  AMERICAN  ELM.  287 

branchlets,  and,  in  ancient  trees,  the  extreme  half  of  the  limb, 
pendent,  forming  a  light  and  regular  arch.  This  graceful  cur- 
vature, and  absence  of  all  abruptness,  in  the  primary  limbs 
and  forks,  and  all  the  subsequent  divisions,  are  entirely  charac- 
teristic of  the  tree,  and  enable  an  observer  to  distinguish  it  in 
the  winter  and  even  by  night,  when  standing  in  relief  against 
the  sky,  as  far  as  it  can  be  distinctly  seen. 

The  American  elm  affects  many  different  shapes  and  all  of 
them  beautiful.  Of  these,  three  are  most  striking  and  distinct. 
The  tall  Etruscan  vase  is  formed  by  four  or  five  limbs,  sepa- 
rating at  twenty  or  thirty  feet  from  the  ground,  going  up, 
with  a  gradual  divergency  to  sixty  or  seventy,  and  then  bend- 
ing rapidly  outward,  forming  a  flat  top  with  a  pendent  border. 
Such  is  the  fine  old  tree,  still  in  perfect  vigor,  which  stands  by 
the  painted*  gate  of  the  Botanic  Garden,  in  Cambridge.  And 
such  are  many  of  the  noble  trees  in  Northampton  and  Spring- 
field, and  all  along  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut. 

The  single  or  compound  plume  is  represented  by  trees  stretch- 
ing up  in  a  single  stem,  or  two  or  three  parallel  limbs,  to  the 
height  of  seventy  or  even  a  hundred  feet,  and  spreading  out  in 
one  or  two  light,  feathery  plumes.  Of  this  character  is  the  tall, 
patriarchal  tree  that  stands  alone  on  the  common  in  Pittsfield. 
Many  specimens  of  this  form  may  be  seen  in  Berkshire  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  State  where  the  tall  primeval  forest  has 
been  cut  away,  and  the  elm  alone  has  been  left  standing. 

The  elm  often  assumes  a  character  akin  to  that  of  the  oak ;  this 
is  when  it  has  been  transplanted  young  from  an  open  situation, 
and  allowed  always  to  remain  by  itself.  It  is  then  a  broad, 
round-headed  tree.  Of  this  kind  are  the  large  tree  on  Boston 
Common,  the  grand  old  tree  by  the  Aspinwall  house  in  Brook- 
line,  and  that  striking  tree,  in  Hingham,  on  the  road  to  Cohas- 
set.  The  resemblance  to  the  oak,  however,  never  very  strik- 
ing, is  entirely  lost  as  you  approach  and  stand  under  it.  The 
mighty,  abrupt  strength  of  the  oak  is  not  visible,  and  you  have, 
instead,  the  graceful  majesty  of  the  elm.  "  The  buttonwood," 
says  Michaux,  "  astonishes  the  eye  by  the  size  of  its  trunk  and 
the  amplitude  of  its  head ;  but  the  white  elm  has  a  more  ma- 
jestic appearance,  which  is  owing  to  its  great  elevation,  to  the 


288        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

disposition  of  its  principal  limbs,  and  to  the  extreme  elegance 
of  its  summit.  In  Maine,  between  Portsmouth  and  Portland, 
a  great  number  of  young  white  elms  are  seen  detached  in  the 
middle  of  the  pastures  ;  they  ramify  at  the  height  of  eight,  ten, 
or  twelve  feet,  and  their  limbs,  springing  at  the  same  point, 
cross  each  other  and  rise  with  a  uniform  inclination,  so  as  to 
form  of  the  summit  a  sheaf  of  regular  proportions  and  admira- 
ble beauty." 

The  character  of  the  trunk  is  almost  as  various  as  that  of 
the  general  form  of  the  tree.  You  sometimes  see  it  a  straight, 
gradually  tapering  column,  shooting  up  to  sixty  or  eighty  feet 
without  a  limb  ;  at  other  times,  an  inverted  small  branch  or  two, 
pushing  out  at  the  fork,  hangs  waving  downwards  for  some  feet. 
Again  you  see  it  a  verdant  pillar  of  foliage,  feathering  from  the 
branches  to  the  ground. 

With  this  endless  variety  of  beauty,  it  is  not  wonderful  that 
the  American  elm  should  be  the  greatest  favorite  with  the  New 
England  people.  And  it  has  the  additional  recommendation  of 
retaining  much  of  its  beauty  when  the  foliage  is  gone.  The 
sturdy  trunk  and  the  airy  sweep  of  the  branches  are  always 
there,  and  few  objects  of  the  kind  are  more  beautiful  than 
the  feathered,  alternate  regularity  of  the  spray  upon  the  out- 
most and  uppermost  boughs.  With  the  earliest  spring,  these 
are  fringed  with  numerous  bunches  of  red  blossoms,  soon  to 
give  place  to  soft,  delicious  green  of  the  young  leaves. 

Coming  with  such  recommendations,  the  elm  is  more  fre- 
quently transplanted  than  any  other  forest  tree,  and,  from  the 
vigor  and  number  of  its  roots,  it  is  more  sure  than  any  other 
to  live.  It  is  oftener  spared,  too,  in  most  parts  of  the  country, 
when  the  rest  of  the  forest  is  cut  away.  We  frequently,  there- 
fore, see  it  standing,  for  a  shade  to  cattle,  in  pastures,  and  by 
fences  and  sometimes  in  mid  fields,  on  tilled  land,  or  left  to 
shade  and  protect  and  give  an  air  of  comfort  to  farm-houses. 
And,  in  the  excellent  practice,  becoming  every  year  more  com- 
mon, of  ornamenting  towns  and  villages  and  sheltering  sunny 
roads,  with  rows  of  trees,  the  elm  is  chosen  often  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  other  trees,  of  trees  too,  which,  much  as  we  value 
the  elm,  we  cannot  but  consider  its  equals  and  often  its  su- 


X.     1.  THE  AMERICAN  ELM.  289 

periors,  the  maples,  the  ashes,  the  birches,  the  beeches,   and 
even  of  the  lordly  oak  itself. 

But  the  elm  bears  pruning  better,  and  requires  it  less  than 
almost  any  tree,  for  it  usually  throws  out  no  branches  below  a 
height  of  twelve  to  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  It  grows,  too,  with 
great  rapidity,  for  its  roots  run,  just  beneath  the  surface,  to  a 
great  distance,  and  thus  get  the  best  of  the  soil. 

The  flowers  are  in  numerous  clusters  of  from  eight  to  twen- 
ty in  a  cluster,  on  the  sides  of  the  terminal  branches.  Each 
flower  is  supported  on  a  green,  slender,  membranous  thread,  from 
one  fifth  to  half  an  inch  long,  and  consists  of  a  brown  cup,  parted 
into  seven  or  eight  divisions,  rounded  at  the  border,  and  con- 
taining about  eight  brown  stamens,  and  a  long,  compressed 
ovary,  surmounted  by  two  short  styles.  This  ripens  into  a 
flattened  seed-vessel,  called  a  samara,  which  is  winged  on  every 
side,  with  a  thin,  ciliated  or  fringed  border.  The  flowers  appear 
early  in  April  or  even  in  March,  and  the  samarae  are  mature 
before  the  full  expansion  of  the  leaves. 

The  leaves  are  on  very  short  footstalks,  broad  ovate,  heart- 
shaped,  rounded  or  rarely  acute  at  base,  acuminate,  conspicu- 
ously doubly  serrate  ;  divided  by  the  mid-rib  into  very  unequal 
parts,  of  which  the  upper  is  larger  ;  somewhat  tomentose  when 
young,  afterwards  roughish  on  both  surfaces,  particularly  the 
upper ;  usually  from  two  to  four  or  five  inches  long,  and  one 
and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half  broad,  but  varying  extremely  in 
size.  The  rich  green  of  the  leaves  turns,  in  autumn,  to  a  sober 
brown,  which  is  sometimes  touched  with  a  bright  golden  yellow. 

The  elder  Michaux  found  the  elm  as  far  north,  in  Canada, 
as  48°  20'.  According  to  Hooker,  it  is  found  from  Saskatch- 
awan  to  York  Factory,  on  Hudson's  Bay.  The  younger  Mi- 
chaux traced  it  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Georgia,  and  says  that  it 
is  found  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  the  country.  He  con- 
siders the  country  between  the  42°  and  46°  of  latitude  as  most 
favorable  to  its  growth.  To  this,  probably,  no  part,  considering 
the  soil,  is  better  adapted  than  Massachusetts.  This  tree  grows 
in  almost  any  soil,  but  never  attains  its  loftiest  elevation  ex- 
cept in  rich,  moist  ground,  such  as  is  found  on  the  banks  of  our 
larger  rivers.  In  such  situations,  it  has  so  rapid  a  growth,  that 
38 


290        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

he  who  has  planted  it  may  live,  without  passing  beyond  the 
ordinary  age  of  man,  to  see  it  become  a  majestic  tree.  I  once 
heard  an  old  man,  standing  in  the  shade  of  a  tree,  nearly  two 
feet  in  diameter,  which  towered  above  all  around  it,  say,  "  this 
tree,  after  I  had  been  many  years  successful  in  business,  and, 
in  a  change  of  fortune,  had  retired  to  this  farm  with  a  little  that 
remained,  I  stuck  into  the  ground  after  I  had  used  it  as  a  stick, 

in  a  ride  of  eight  miles  home  from  P ."     I  know  several 

fine  rows  of  majestic  elms,  the  ornaments  of  the  villages  where 
they  grow,  that  were  transplanted  within  the  distinct  memory 
of  persons  now  living  to  enjoy  their  shade. 

From  its  having  been  so  long  a  favorite,  it  has  been  more 
frequently  spared  and  oftener  transplanted  than  any  other  tree, 
and  there  are,  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  many  fine  old  trees  stand- 
ing. Of  a  few  of  those,  which  I  have  had  an  opportunity  to 
examine  and  measure,  or  of  which  I  have  received  an  account, 
I  give  some  of  the  dimensions. 

In  Springfield,  in  a  field  a  few  rods  north  of  the  hotel,  is  an 
elm  which  was  twenty -five  feet  and  nine  inches  in  circumfer- 
ence, at  three  feet  from  the  ground,  when  I  measured  it  in  1837. 
This  magnificent  tree  divides,  not  many  feet  from  the  ground, 
into  several  large  branches.  This  is  near  the  place  where  the 
enormous  Celtis,  which  was  usually  taken  for  an  elm,  once  stood. 
There  are  many  other  elms,  not  far  from  this,  some  of  which 
make  a  greater  show  at  a  distance. 

In  West  Springfield,  the  largest  tree  I  could  see,  upon  the 
road,  measured,  at  the  same  time,  nineteen  feet  five  inches  in 
girth  at  four  feet  from  the  ground. 

At  Richmond,  I  measured,  in  1837,  with  William  Bacon,  Esq., 
an  elm  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town,  which  was  twelve  feet 
two  inches  in  girth,  in  the  smallest  part,  between  the  root  and 
branches.     This  was  of  the  kind  resembling  a  sheaf  of  wheat. 

The  Pittsfield  elm  was,  in  the  same  year,  thirteen  feet  in 
circuit  at  four  feet.  This  towers  up  to  one  hundred  and  four- 
teen feet,  without  a  branch,  till  near  the  top. 

In  the  lower  part  of  Bolton,  I  measured  a  tree  which  was 
fifteen  feet  seven  inches,  at  four  feet  from  the  ground. 

The  Aspinwall  elm,  in  Brookline,  standing  near  the  ancient 


X.     1.  THE  AMERICAN  ELM.  291 

house  belonging  to  that  family,  and  which  was  known  to  be 
one  hundred  and  eighty-one  years  old  in  1837,  then  measured 
twenty-six  feet  five  inches  at  the  ground,  or  as  near  to  it  as  the 
roots  would  allow  us  to  measure,  and  sixteen  feet  eight  inches 
at  five  feet.  The  branches  extended  one  hundred  and  four  feet 
from  southeast  to  northwest,  and  ninety-five  from  northeast  to 
southwest. 

The  great  elm  on  Boston  Common  was  measured  by  Prof. 
Gray  and  myself,  in  June  of  1844.  At  the  ground,  it  measures 
twenty-three  feet  six  inches  ;  at  three  feet,  seventeen  feet  eleven 
inches,  and  at  five  feet,  sixteen  feet  and  one  inch.  The  largest 
branch,  towards  the  southeast,  stretches  fifty-one  feet. 

The  classical  elm,  opposite  the  gate  of  the  Botanic  Garden, 
Cambridge,  measured  fourteen  feet  nine  inches  at  four  feet,  in 
1838. 

In  Hingham,  on  the  road  leading  to  Cohasset,  just  below  the 
turn  from  the  Old  Colony  House,  stands  an  elm  which  is  said  to 
have  been  transplanted  in  1729.  It  may  have  been  one  hundred 
and  twenty  or  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  old,  on  the 
25th  of  July,  in  1839,  when  I  measured  it,  in  company  with  that 
excellent  botanist,  William  Oakes,  Esq.,  of  Ipswich.  It  was 
thirteen  feet  in  circumference,  at  four  and  a  half  feet  from  the 
ground.  At  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  eight  large  branches  are 
thrown  out,  which  sweep  upwards  in  a  broad  curve,  making  a 
noble  round  head  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high.  The  immense 
roots,  which,  beginning  at  three  or  four  feet  above  the  surface, 
stand  out  like  abutments,  in  all  directions,  chiefly  west  and 
east,  give  an  idea  of  permanency  and  vast  strength.  The 
extreme  spread  of  the  limbs  is  forty-five  feet  from  the  trunk, 
making  the  breadth  of  the  head  more  than  ninety  feet.  In  the 
angle  of  one  of  the  branches,  when  we  measured  it,  was  grow- 
ing a  currant-bush  with  ripe  fruit.  Speaking  of  this  tree,  J. 
S.  Lewis,  Esq.,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  valuable  informa- 
tion concerning  the  trees  of  Hingham,  says, — "At  ten  feet,  it 
is  fifteen  feet  nine  inches  in  circumference.  It  has  a  hemi- 
spherical top,  of  ninety  feet  diameter  at  the  base,  ascending  and 
terminating  with  singular  uniformity,  presenting  to  the  eye  a 
rare  combination  of  beauty  and  grandeur.     At  this  measure- 


292        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ment,  it  is  covered  with  a  deep,  luxuriant  foliage,  looking  as 
fresh  and  vigorous  as  a  stripling  of  the  forest." 

In  July,  of  1838,  I  measured  the  noble  elm  which  stands  in 
front  of  the  dwelling-house  of  Capt.  Jaquish,  about  one  mile 
from  the  centre  of  Newburyport.  This  was  set  out  in  1713,  by 
Richard  Jaquish,  who  was  born  in  1683.  It  may,  therefore,  be 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  or  one  hundred  and  forty  years  old. 
At  the  smallest  place  between  the  roots  and  the  branches,  it 
was  fifteen  feet  in  circumference,  and  probably  over  eighty  feet 
high.  It  had  many  large  branches,  one  of  which  was  more 
than  three  feet  in  diameter. 

Mr.  William  Bacon,  of  Natick,  mentions  two  remarkable 
elms  growing  in  that  town.  "  One  of  them  is  not  far  from 
the  Old  Hartford  road,  near  South  Natick  Mills.  Its  pendent 
branches  are  spread  equally  in  all  directions,  to  the  distance  of 
fifty  feet  from  the  trunk,  thus  giving  a  diameter  to  its  shade  of 
about  one  hundred  feet.  It  is  the  handsomest  specimen  of  its 
genus  which  I  ever  saw." 

"  The  other  is  standing  upon  the  south  side  of  the  road  which 
leads  from  Natick  to  Wayland,  near  the  house  of  Mr.  Edward 
Hammond.  This  tree  was  transplanted  to  its  present  situation 
about  sixty  years  since,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  gen- 
tleman who  still  occupies  the  mansion.  It  now,  (1838,)  mea- 
sures thirteen  feet  in  circumference  four  feet  above  the  ground, 
and  probably  twenty  or  more  at  the  surface.  Its  shade  mea- 
sures, from  north  to  south,  at  noon-day,  one  hundred  and  two 
feet.     It  ramifies  at  the  height  of  about  eight  or  nine  feet." 

The  great  Sheffield  elm  had,  in  September,  1844,  at  the  ground, 
a  girth  of  twenty-two  feet  six  inches;  at  two  feet,  eighteen  feet 
six  inches ;  at  three,  sixteen  feet  nine  inches ;  at  four,  fifteen 
feet  ten  inches;  at  five,  sixteen  feet;  at  six,  sixteen  feet  seven 
inches,  above  which  it  rapidly  enlarges,  and  divides  at  ten  or 
twelve  feet  into  three  large  limbs,  which  soon  subdivide.  Its 
spread  westward,  from  the  centre,  is  forty-nine  feet  six  inches, 
and  it  is  nearly  equal  on  every  side  ;  height  sixty  or  seventy  feet. 

At  Johnston,  on  the  estate  of  Royal  Potter,  Esq.,  is  a  mag- 
nificent elm,  which  I  measured,  August  21,  1840,  with  the 
aid  of  Hon.  Horace  Mann.     At  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet,  it 


X.     1.  THE  AMERICAN  ELM.  293 

throws  up  a  prodigious  weight  of  branches,  twelve,  each  equal 
to  a  tree, — forming  a  broad,  one-sided  head.  At  five  feet  from 
the  ground,  which  is  the  smallest  place,  its  girth  is  twenty-two 
feet  two  inches ;  at  seven,  it  is  twenty-two  feet  nine  inches ; 
at  one  and  a  half  on  one  side,  three  on  the  other,  twenty- 
nine  feet  nine  inches;  at  three,  twenty-four  feet  nine  inches. 
Below,  one  and  a  half  or  three,  the  roots  bulge  out.  The  first 
large  branch,  which  has  a  girth  of  eleven  feet  two  inches,  divides 
into  two.  The  second,  thirteen  feet  ten  inches  in  girth,  divides 
into  five  branches.  The  horizontal  extent  of  the  southeast 
branch,  is  sixty-nine  feet  one  inch.  It  is  a  very  old  tree  and 
falling  into  decay,  but  still  vigorous  and  clothed  with  a  rich, 
dark  colored  foliage.  Its  uncommon  growth  is,  doubtless,  owing 
to  its  peculiar  situation.  A  small  perennial  stream  flows  near 
it,  and  its  most  vigorous  limbs  are  stretched  so  as  to  overshadow, 
for  many  feet,  the  little  fertile  glade  through  which  it  flows. 
It  is  also  near  a  farmer's  yard,  the  animals  belonging  to  which 
are  often  standing  by  day  or  lying  by  night,  under  the  covert  of 
its  branches.  It  has,  to  visiters,  the  additional  recommendation 
of  being  on  the  farm  of  a  worthy  magistrate,  who  knows  how 
to  respect  the  curiosity  of  those  who  visit  it. 

Some  of  these  trees  are  still  in  apparent  vigor,  though  nearly 
two  hundred  years  old.  It  is  found,  however,  on  cutting  down 
old  elms,  that  they  are,  almost  universally,  hollow  at  base. 
Whether  this  is  the  case  in  the  rich,  deep  soils  of  the  western 
valleys,  I  know  not.  In  the  scanty  soils  of  Massachusetts,  it 
may  proceed  from  the  fact,  that  all  the  nutriment  near  the  bot- 
tom of  the  tree,  where  the  roots  are  fed  that  nourish  the  heart, 
is  exhausted. 

Besides  its  use  as  a  shade  and  ornamental  tree,  its  timber  is 
employed  for  several  important  purposes  in  the  arts.  Its  wood 
is  preferred  to  any  native  wood  for  hubs  of  wheels.  In  Boston 
and  the  vicinity,  the  hubs  for  the  very  superior  gigs,  light 
wagons,  and  other  pleasure  carriages,  which  are  manufactured 
there,  are  almost  universally  made  of  it.  For  this  purpose,  it 
is  obtained  from  the  towns  within  a  few  miles  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  same  use  is  made  of  it  in  the  centre  and  western 
parts  of  the  State.     Yokes  are  made  of  it.     In  the  sea-port 


294       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

towns,  it  is  much  used  for  making  large  ships'  blocks.  As  it  is 
very  difficult  to  work,  these  are  not  made,  like  the  smaller  ones 
which  are  of  ash,  of  a  single  thick  piece,  but  of  several  pieces 
of  plank  pinned  together.  From  the  peculiarity  of  the  grain, 
these  cannot  be  planed  lengthwise,  but  must  be  wrought  cross- 
wise. By  the  ship-builder,  it  is  used  in  the  flat  of  ships'  floors. 
For  blocks  and  hubs,  it  is  said,  by  those  who  have  tried  both, 
that  English  elm  is  decidedly  superior. 

Formerly,  the  bark  of  the  elm  was  used  to  make  chair  bot- 
toms. It  has  considerable  tenacity,  and  when  macerated  in 
water  and  rendered  supple  by  pounding,  may  be  twisted  into  a 
pretty  strong  cord. 

The  elm  may  be  very  easily  propagated  by  seed,  by  suckers, 
or  by  layers.  The  seed  is  ripe  in  May  or  early  in  June;  and  in 
August  and  September,  I  have  seen  thousands  of  young  elms 
springing  from  them  in  the  paths  or  sandy  walks  beneath,  or 
near  the  tree.  The  seed  should  be  sown  immediately  after  it 
has  fallen,  on  soft,  sandy  loam,  and  covered  lightly  to  the  depth 
of  one  eighth  or  one  fourth  of  an  inch.  The  plants  will  appear 
in  a  few  weeks,  and  may  be  transplanted  to  a  nursery  the  same 
autumn.  In  from  five  to  ten  years,  they  will  be  large  enough 
to  be  planted  where  they  are  permanently  to  stand.  There  is 
so  great  a  similarity  in  the  habits  of  this  and  the  English  elm, 
that  it  might  doubtless  be  propagated  by  suckers  and  layers, 
i:i  the  same  manner  as  directed  for  that  tree. — See  pp.  302 — 3. 

The  elm  is  transplanted  from  the  forest,  of  every  size,  from 
five  or  six  feet  to  thirty  or  more ;  and  it  is  so  tenacious  of  life 
that  it  bears  beheading  and  dismemberment  in  an  astonishing 
manner.  Far  more  pains  in  the  transplantation  would  be  well 
rewarded.  By  a  little  attention  to  the  habit  of  the  young  trees, 
those  might  be  selected  which  would  push  up  to  an  ample  height 
before  ramifying  :  and  those  numerous  varieties  which  strike 
us  by  their  beauty,  when  seen  standing  as  they  were  left  on 
the  clearing  up  of  the  woods,  might  be  secured  by  examining 
the  tendencies  of  the  trees  in  particular  situations. 

I  have  measurements  of  very  many  large  elms  from  various 
parts  of  this  State.     For  many  of  them,  I  am  indebted  to  the 


X.     1.  THE  AMERICAN  ELM.  295 

kindness  of  Dr.  0.  W.  Holmes  and  J.  J.  Dixwell,  Esq.  Others 
I  have  obtained  from  other  individuals  and  from  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer,  and  a  still  greater  number  I  have  measured  my- 
self. In  the  following  statistics,  the  words  "circumference," 
"feet,"  "inches,"  and  "from  the  ground,"  will  be  generally 
omitted : — 

Three  miles  from  Hingham,  a  fine  tall  elm  measured,  in  June,  1840,  12  feet 
7  inches  at4£  feet.  It  is  of  the  Etruscan  vase  shape,  and  a  fine  specimen.  In 
the  same  year,  an  old  elm  at  Heard's  Island,  in  Wayland,  was  20  feet  at  1£, 
and  15  feet  5,  at  3|.  A  very  noble  tree,  75  feet  high,  and  with  a  spread  of  128 
feet  from  northeast  to  southwest,  and  not  much  less  in  any  direction,  covering 
a  broad  space  with  its  dense  shade.  One  in  Lincoln,  a  beautifully  irregular 
and  picturesque  tree,  with  a  full,  broad  head,  growing  on  the  road-side,  and 
giving  a  cheerful  aspect  to  two  houses,  and  on  which  a  family  of  orioles 
had  built  their  hanging  nests  for  not  less  than  seventeen  years, — was  12  feet  9, 
at  5  feet.  A  broad,  spreading  tree  on  the  Old  Common  in  Lancaster,  was  14 
feet  6,  at  5  feet  6.  East  of  Centre  Bridge,  in  the  same  town,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  by  a  green  lane  which  was  once  a  town  road,  a  tree  of  70  or  80 
feet  high,  measured  20  feet  9,  at  2  feet  above  the  bulging  of  the  roots.  An 
elm  near  Breck's  garden,  one  half  in  a  wall,  was  16  feet  3,  at  5£.  It  enlarges 
above  and  divides  into  many  branches,  spreading  into  a  vase-like  shape,  with  a 
broad,  magnificent  head  of  80  or  90  feet  in  height.  Several  other  very  noble 
trees  are  near  by. 

The  following  were  measured  by  Dr.  Holmes,  in  September, 

1837 :— 

Great  elm,  at  Springfield,  was  29  feet  4,  at  about  1  foot;  25  feet  10,  at  2  or  3  ; 
24  feet  8,  at  5.  A  curious  tree,  also  in  Springfield,  was  20  feet  1,  at  1 ;  18  feet 
5,  where  smallest;  22  feet  11,  at  5.  One  on  Northampton  meadow,  was  22 
feet  2,  at  1  ;  22  feet  at  3  ;  23  feet  9,  at  5.  A  second  was,  19  feet  7,  at  1  ;  16 
feet  6,  at  5.  One  in  Mr.  Whitney's  yard,  in  that  town,  was  22  feet  2,  at  1  ; 
18  feet  7,  at  5.  One  on  Deerfield  street  was,  17  feet  7,  at  5  ;  another,  on  the 
Colman  farm,  23  feet  9,  at  1 ;  16  feet  7,  at  5.  A  tree  at  Hatfield,  measured 
35  feet  9,  at  a  little  above  1  ;  23  feet  2,  at  5  ;  22  feet  7,  at  6£.  The  elm  on 
the  Common,  at  Pittsfield,  was  17  feet  4,  at  1  ;  and  12  feet  7,  at  5.  One  on 
the  Wendell  farm,  20  feet  at  1  ;  13  feet  4,  at  5.  Thaddeus  Morse,  at  Med- 
field,  had  a  tree  which  measured  37  feet  4,  probably  at  the  ground. 

The  following  elm  trees,  in  Northampton,  were  measured  by 

Mr.  Dixwell,  in  November,  1841  : — 

On  the  intervale  between  the  town  and  river,  in  "  Middle  Meadow,"  an  old 
elm,  within  sight  of  the  ferry-landing,  from  Mount  Holyoke  towards  the  south- 


296       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

west;  6  inches  from  the  ground,  24  feet  6,  in  circumference  ;  at  3£  feet,  small- 
est place,  22  feet  10 ;  at  4£  feet,  23  feet  10.  It  begins  to  branch  at  5£  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  divides  into  distinct  trunks  at  7i  feet.  Its  roots  spread 
very  little  at  the  surface.  The  trunk  seems  sound  outside,  but  the  branches 
at,  and  just  above,  the  main  trunk  exhibit  considerable  decay,  and  one  branch, 
about  a  foot  in  diameter,  has  fallen  this  season.  Spread  of  branches  110  feet. 
An  elm,  with  top  in  fine  preservation,  and  apparently  healthy,  but  with  a  deep 
hollow  in  one  side  of  the  trunk, — at  the  ground,  20  feet  9 ;  at  4^  feet,  16  feet 
10,  smallest  place  ;  branches  off  at  8  feet  from  the  ground.  On  the  intervale, 
northeast  from  the  ferry  a  mile  or  so,  are  two  decayed  trees,  18  and  20  feet  at  the 
smallest  places.  One  in  the  same  situation,  in  fine  condition  ; — at  1  foot  from 
the  ground,  21  feet  4  ;  at  2  feet,  17  feet  7,  smallest  place;  at  4£  feet,  19  feet 
11  ;  branches  at  5  feet  from  ground,  and  spreads  over  an  area  thirty  paces  in 
diameter.  Another,  in  the  same  situation,  in  fine  condition  ; — at  1  foot  from 
the  ground,  18  feet  7  ;  at  4  feet,  16  feet  8,  smallest  place  ;  branches  at  7  feet. 
A  tree,  called  "  Mather  Elm,"  before  an  old  house,  formerly  occupied  by  a 
family  of  that  name,  on  the  north  side  of  Pleasant  street : — at  1  foot  from  the 
ground,  22  feet  8,  roots  spread  much ;  at  4^  feet,  15  feet  7,  in  smallest  place  ; 
branches  at  12  feet,  and  is  in  fine  condition,  with  the  exception  of  one  large 
branch  gone.  Elm,  in  King  street,  planted  by  President  Edwards,  now  before 
the  house  of  J.  D.  Whitney; — at  the  ground,  22  feet  5  ;  at  4  feet  above, 
18  feet  10,  smallest  place  ;  branches  at  7  feet  and  is  in  fine  condition.  One  in 
the  Main  street,  before  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Pomeroy,  and  opposite  the  mansion 
of  the  late  Gov.  Strong ; — at  4  feet  from  the  ground,  15  feet  1,  smallest  part. 
Great  Elm,  at  Hatfield,  near  the  church,  in  the  enclosure  at  the  side  of  the 
town  house  ; — at  the  ground,  41  feet,  roots  spread  much  ;  at  3£  feet,  27  feet ; 
at  6  feet  above,  22  feet  9,  smallest  place.  Branches  spread  over  an  area 
108  feet  in  diameter.  The  trunk  appears  sound,  but  the  branches  are  much 
decayed,  and  probably  half  of  them  have  fallen.  Two  elms,  at  Hatfield,  on 
the  main  road  in  the  village,  both  in  very  sound  and  fine  condition  ; — the  first, 
at  the  ground,  25  feet;  at  2  feet  above,  17  feet  2  ;  at  3  feet  above,  15  feet  5, 
smallest  part.  The  second,  at  the  ground,  20  feet  7  ;  at  2  feet  above,  15  feet 
5  ;  at  3^  feet  above,  13  feet  7,  smallest  part. 

An  elm  tree,  nearly  opposite  the  house  of  Heman  Day,  Esq.,  in  West 
Springfield,  was  planted  by  him  on  the  8th  of  January,  1775.  At  the  time  of 
transplanting,  it  was  a  sapling  carried  in  the  hand.  The  trunk,  in  1829,  was 
18  feet  in  circumference  to  the  height  of  12  feet  above  the  surface,  where  it 
divides  into  branches  which  overhang  a  circle  of  more  than  300  feet  in  circum- 
ference, covering  7,500  square  feet  of  surface. — N.  E.  Farmer,  VII,  299. 

It  had  thus  grown  21G  inches  in  circumference  in  54  years,  or  at  the  rate  of 
4  inches  a  year.  All  the  circles  of  growth  must  average  two  thirds  of  an  inch. 
In  1845,  this  tree  was  carefully  measured  by  a  gentleman  of  Springfield,  who 
gives  me  the  following  dimensions: — at  3  feet,  its  diameter  is  7  feet;  at  5, 


X.     1.  THE  SLIPPERY  ELM.  297 

6  feet  5.7;  at  8,  8  feet ;  at  11,  7  feet  4.7  inches.  The  spread  of  the  top  is 
134  feet  8  inches. 

The  great  elm,  on  Boston  Common,  measured,  in  1820,  23  feet  at  the 
ground  ;  and  20  feet  at  3.  In  1844,  it  measured,  near  the  ground,  23  feet  6  ; 
at  3  feet,  17  feet  11 ;  at  5  feet,  1G  feet  1.  On  a  map  of  Boston,  published  in 
1720,  this  elm  is  delineated  as  a  large  tree.  It  is  said  to  have  been  planted 
about  the  year  1670,  by  Capt.  Daniel  Henchman,  an  ancestor  of  Gov.  Han- 
cock.    It  is,  therefore,  more  than  175  years  old.* 

The  "  Washington  Elm,"  in  Cambridge,  so  called  because  beneath  its  shade 
or  near  it,  Gen.  Washington  is  said  to  have  first  drawn  his  sword,  on  taking 
command  of  the  American  army,  measured,  in  1842,  15  feet  2,  at  1  foot,  and 
13  feet  2,  at  3  from  the  ground.  In  1844,  it  measured  13  feet  2£  inches,  at 
the  same  point,  where  the  girth  is  smallest.  The  celebrated  Whitefield 
preached  under  the  shade  of  this  tree,  in  1744. 

The  following  measurements  and  accompanying  particulars 
are  taken  from  a  communication  in  the  New  England  Farmer, 
Vol.  IV,  p.  242,  made  in  1826  :— 

Two  elms  were  set  out  by  the  Indians,  in  front  of  the  house  of  Rev.  Oliver 
Peabody,  who  succeeded,  in  1722,  to  the  venerable  Elliot,  the  Indian  apostle, 
in  the  same  truly  Christian  ministry,  in  Natick.  This  voluntary  offering  of 
the  grateful  savages,  they  called  trees  of  peace.  A  similar  offering  was  made 
to  Mr.  Peabody's  successor,  Rev.  Stephen  Badger.  These  latter  trees  were 
standing,  in  1826,  having  been  planted  73  years.  They  measured  15  feet  at 
the  ground,  and  9  at  the  smallest  place  above,  having  grown  half  an  inch  in 
diameter  annually.  A  tree  standing  in  Framingham,  which  was  90  years  old, 
measured,  in  the  same  year,  20  feet  at  1  foot  from  the  ground.  This  indicates 
an  annual  growth  in  diameter  of  more  than  four  fifths  of  an  inch.  The  same 
communication  states,  that  the  Charter  Oak,  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  measured,  at 
the  ground,  36  feet  in  girth,  and  at  the  smallest  place  above,  25  feet. 

Sp.  2.     The  Slippery  Elm.      Ulmns  fulva.     Michaux. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  Plate  128. 

The  slippery  elm  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  common 
elm.  It  has  less  of  a  drooping  appearance,  and  the  bark  of  the 
smaller  branches  is  rougher,  and  of  a  lighter  color  ;  on  the  trunk 
it  is  somewhat  smoother  and  darker.  It  is  commonly  a  much 
smaller  tree.  The  leaves  are  thicker  and  rougher, — excessively 
rough    above.      The  recent    shoots  are  light  gray,   and   very 

*  See  an  article  in  the  North  American  Review,  July,  1844,  for  much  curious 
information  on  the  longevity  of  trees. 

39 


298        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

rough ;  the  older  branchlets  grayish,  or  grayish  purple.  The 
leaves  are  on  short,  stout,  hairy  and  rough  footstalks,  very 
large,  from  four  to  seven  inches  long,  and  three  or  four  wide ; 
heart-shaped  and  very  unequal-sided  at  base,  the  upper  side 
being  full  and  spreading  back  over  the  footstalk;  the  termina- 
tion a  long  slender  point ;  the  margin  coarsely  and  doubly, 
rather  obtusely  serrate;  both  surfaces  very  rough,  the  lower 
less  so,  but  hairy  on  the  veins  and  nerves,  which  are  prominent, 
parallel,  straight,  and  usually  divided  towards  the  edge.  The 
upper  surface  is  a  pale  green,  the  lower  much  whiter;  veins 
irregular,  reticulate  ;  serratures  less  falcate  than  in  the  common 
elm.  The  surface  of  the  latter  is  rough  in  one  direction,  and 
smooth  in  the  other ;  of  the  slippery,  rough  in  both.  The  buds 
are  small,  acute,  and  black.  The  larger  branches  are  brown- 
ish, somewhat  striate,  the  bark  cracking  and  becoming  rag- 
ged at  an  earlier  age  than  in  most  trees.  On  the  young  and 
vigorous  branches,  the  leaves  are  often  eight  or  ten  inches  long, 
by  four  or  five  broad,  and  of  an  oblong  shape.  The  bark  is 
tough  and  mucilaginous,  with  abundant  mucilage  beneath  it. 
The  flowers  are  in  lateral  clusters,  on  short  footstalks.  The 
flower-cup  is  usually  divided  into  seven  parts,  and  has  seven 
long  stamens  with  dark  purple  anthers.  The  ovary  is  com- 
pressed, surmounted  by  two,  purple,  glandular  styles.  The 
seed  vessel,  or  samara,  is  larger  than  that  of  the  common  elm, 
and  with  a  broader  and  more  entire  border. 

The  slippery  elm  is  rare  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  I 
have  not  found  it,  growing  naturally,  nearer  to  Boston  than 
Natick.  In  the  western  counties,  it  is  more  abundant.  In  many 
places  I  have  found  it  dead  or  dying,  from  having  been  stripped 
of  its  bark.  The  largest  tree  of  this  kind  which  I  have  meas- 
ured, was  six  feet  ten  inches  in  circumference,  at  four  feet  from 
the  ground.  It  was  found  growing  in  Natick.  Contrary  to  the 
observation  of  Michaux,  I  have  found  this  tree  growing  in  rich 
low  ground,  much  more  frequently  than  on  higher. 

The  inner  bark  of  this  elm  contains  a  great  quantity  of  mu- 
cilage, and  is  a  favorite  popular  prescription,  in  many  parts  of 
the  country,  for  dysentery,  and  in  affections  of  the  chest. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  slippery  elm  has  become 


\.     i.  THE  ENGLISH  ELM.  299 

so  rare.  The  inner  bark  is  one  of  the  best  applications  known 
for  affections  of  the  throat  and  lungs.  Flour  prepared  from  the 
bark  by  drying  perfectly  and  grinding,  and  mixed  with  milk, 
like  arrow-root,  is  a  wholesome  and  nutritious  food  for  infants 
and  invalids. 

Dr.  Darlington  says  that,  in  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain, 
the  soldiers  on  the  Canada  frontier,  found  this,  in  times  of  scar- 
city of  forage,  a  grateful  and  nutritious  food  for  their  horses. 

Michaux  considers  the  wood  of  the  slippery  elm  as]  superior 
to  that  of  the  white.  He  says,  ':  The  heart  is  coarser-grained, 
and  less  compact  than  that  of  the  white  elm,  and  of  a  dull  red 
tinge.  I  have  remarked  that  the  wood,  even  in  branches  of  one 
or  two  inches  in  diameter,  consists  principally  of  perfect  wood. 
This  species  is  stronger,  and  more  durable  when  exposed  to  the 
weather,  and  of  a  better  quality  than  the  white  elm ;  hence,  in 
the  Western  States,  it  is  employed  with  greater  advantage  in  the 
construction  of  houses,  and  sometimes  of  vessels,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio.  It  is  the  best  wood  of  the  United  States  for 
blocks,  and  its  scarceness  in  the  Atlantic  States  is  the  only  cause 
of  its  limited  consumption  in  the  ports.  It  makes  excellent 
rails,  which  are  of  long  duration,  and  are  formed  with  little 
labor,  as  the  trunk  divides  itself  easily  and  regularly :  this  is 
probably  the  reason  that  it  is  never  employed  for  the  naves  of 
wheels."— Michaux,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  90. 

I  find,  however,  that  it  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  making 
hubs  in  some  places  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  is 
preferred  to  the  white  elm.  It  is  so  rare  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  one  in  this 
quarter  acquainted  with  its  properties. 

Michaux  found  this  elm  in  all  parts  of  Canada  and  of  the 
United  States,  except  the  maritime  parts  of  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

Sp.  3     The  English  Elm.     Common    European    Elm.      Ulmus 
campestris.     Linn.     Introduced. 

In  Boston,  and  some  towns  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  many 
of  the  finest  elms  are  of  this  species.  They  are  said  to  have 
been  first  imported  and  planted  by  a  wheelwright,  for  his  own 


300         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

use  in  making  hubs  for  wheels,  for  which  purpose  they  are 
probably  superior  to  any  other  wood  known.  They  have  come, 
however,  to  be  far  too  valuable,  as  trees  of  ornament,  to  be  often 
cut  down  for  use.  The  English  elm  is  a  noble  tree.  If  it  has 
less  grace  than  the  American,  it  has  more  stateliness  and  gran- 
deur. It  has  more  of  the  strength  of  the  oak.  It  is  distin- 
guished from  the  American  elm  by  its  bark,  which  is  darker 
and  much  more  broken ;  by  having  one  principal  stem  which 
soars  upwards  to  a  great  height,  and  by  its  branches,  which 
are  thrown  out  more  boldly  and  abruptly,  and  at  a  larger  angle. 
Its  limbs  stretch  out  horizontally,  or  tend  upwards,  with  an  ap- 
pearance of  strength  to  the  very  extremity.  In  the  American, 
they  are  almost  universally  drooping  at  the  end.  Its  leaves  are 
closer,  smaller,  more  numerous,  and  of  a  darker  color.  It  has 
been  objected  to  this  elm  by  Gilpin,  {Forest  Scenery,  I,  p.  90,) 
that  it  wants  a  definite  character,  that  it  has  often  so  great  a 
resemblance  to  an  oak  that  it  may,  at  a  distance,  be  mistaken 
for  it.  The  observation  is  undoubtedly  well  founded,  but  to  one 
who  would  gladly  have  the  satisfaction  of  looking  on  the  king 
of  trees,  but  cannot  wait  for  its  tardy  growth,  it  is  very  far 
from  an  objection.  The  American  elm  is  so  planted  every 
where,  that  it  is  possible  to  be  weary  of  seeing  it ;  in  which  case, 
as  a  variety,  the  sight  of  a  stately  English  elm  is  a  relief.  It 
has,  moreover,  the  advantage  of  being  clothed  in  an  unchanged 
foliage,  several  weeks  longer  than  our  native  tree. 

The  English  elm  continues  to  increase  for  one  hundred,  or 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  probably  much  longer,  al- 
though, compared  with  the  oak,  it  is  not  a  long-lived  tree,  the 
very  old  ones  being  usually  hollow  at  the  base.  For  several 
centuries  it  has  been  planted  for  ornament,  on  avenues  and  pub- 
lic walks  in  France,  Spain  and  the  Low  Countries,  and  in 
England,  immemorially.  When  full  grown,  it  is  four  or  five 
feet  in  diameter,  and  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high.  Raised  from 
seed,  it  forms  innumerable  varieties,  distinguished  by  their 
difference  in  habit  and  appearance,  time  of  leaf  and  peculiarity 
of  hue,  and  by  the  qualities  of  the  wood.  These  varieties, 
some  of  them  very  valuable,  are  propagated  by  shoots,  and  by 
grafting.     Like  the  American  elm,  it  is  of  very  rapid  growth. 


X.     1.  THE  ENGLISH  ELM.  301 

Evelyn  says  it  has  been  known  to  rise  to  the  height  of  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  less  than  a  century. 

Many  large  elms  are  described  by  Loudon  and  Strutt,  and 
several  of  the  most  remarkable  in  England  are  figured  by  the 
latter  in  his  Sylva  Britannica.  The  finest  of  these,  the  Chip- 
stead  Elm,  "  is  sixty  feet  high,  twenty  feet  in  circumference  at 
the  base,  and  fifteen  feet  eight  inches  at  three  feet  and  a  half 
from  the  ground.  It  contains  268  feet  of  timber.  Its  venera- 
ble trunk  is  richly  mantled  with  ivy,  and  gives  signs  of  consid- 
erable age ;  but  the  luxuriance  of  its  foliage  attests  its  vigor, 
and  it  is  as  fine  a  specimen  of  its  species  in  full  beauty  as  can 
be  found.'' — Sylva  Britannica,  p.  60. 

"  The  Crawley  Elm  stands  in  the  village  of  Crawley,  on  the 
high  road  from  London  to  Brighton.  It  is  a  well  known  object 
to  all  who  are  in  the  habit  of  travelling  that  way,  and  arrests 
the  eye  of  the  stranger  at  once  by  its  tall  and  straight  stem, 
which  ascends  to  the  height  of  seventy  feet,  and  by  the  fantas- 
tic ruggedness  of  its  wildly  spreading  roots.  Its  trunk  is  perfo- 
rated to  the  very  top,  measuring  sixty-one  feet  in  circumference 
at  the  ground,  and  thirty-five  feet  round  the  inside  at  two  feet 
from  the  base."  (lb.  p.  62.)  This  tree  is  not  so  large  as  would 
seem  from  this  account,  as  it  diminishes  very  rapidly  upwards. 

There  are  many  fine  trees  of  this  kind  in  Boston,  Roxbury, 
Dorchester,  and  some  other  neighboring  towns,  but  none  of  very 
great  size. 

The  largest  on  the  Mall,  bordering  Boston  Common,  was  meas- 
ured by  Prof.  Gray  and  myself  in  1844,  and  found  to  be  twelve 
feet  and  three  inches  in  circumference  at  three  feet  from  the 
lower  side,  and  eleven  feet  two  inches  at  five  feet.  It  is  a  stately 
and  very  beautiful  tree.  The  European  elms  on  Paddock's 
Mall,  near  Park  Street  Church,  are  said  to  have  been  planted  in 
1762,  by  Major  Adino  Paddock  and  Mr.  John  Ballard.  In 
1826,  several  of  them  measured  nine  feet  at  four  from  the 
ground,  having  grown  more  than  one  and  a  half  inches  a  year. 
Several  of  them  now  measure  nine  feet  ten  inches  at  four  feet, 
having  grown  only  half  an  inch  annually,  for  the  last  twenty 
years.  This,  however,  is  not  surprising,  as  they  are  immedi- 
ately surrounded  on  all  sides  by  an  almost  impenetrable  pave- 


3U2        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

merit,  and  must  get  all  their  nutriment  from  a  distance  on  one 
side,  beyond  a  heavy  wall.  A  differently  constructed  gutter, 
allowing  the  water  and  drainings  of  the  street  to  penetrate, 
would  doubtless  quicken  their  growth. 

The  noblest  and  most  beautiful  English  elms  in  this  vicinity 
are  found  on  the  grounds  of  the  country  residence  of  Henry 
Coclman,  Esq.,  in  Hoxbury.  The  largest  stands  by  the  princi- 
pal gate  in  front.  At  three  feet  from  the  ground,  it  measures 
seventeen  feet  and  five  inches ;  at  five  feet,  fifteen  feet  ten 
inches.  It  has  lost  several  of  its  lower  limbs,  and  with  them 
much  of  its  beauty  ;  but  it  holds  its  size  fully  to  the  height  of 
twenty  or  twenty-five  feet,  where  it  divides  into  three  large 
branches,  the  main,  central  one  of  which,  rises  upwards  to  a 
height  much  above  one  hundred  feet,  perhaps  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  or  one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  Another,  stand- 
ing on  the  lawn,  within  the  enclosure,  has  nearly  the  same  ele- 
vation, with  a  girth  of  twelve  feet  eight  inches  at  three  feet, 
and  eleven  feet  seven  at  five.  Several  trees  of  the  same  kind 
in  the  rear  of  the  house  are  known  to  have  been  planted  in  1796, 
so  that  they  have  now  been  planted  nearly  fifty  years.  The 
largest  and  most  northerly  of  these  measures  eight  feet  eleven 
inches  at  three  feet  from  the  ground.  Two  others,  being  the 
most  westerly  ones,  have  each  a  girth  of  seven  feet  ten  inches 
at  three  feet.  The  largest  of  these  has  thus  made  an  annual 
growth  of  more  than  two  inches  annually,  and  the  others  but 
little  less.  All  these  trees  are  favorably  situated,  in  the  midst 
of  highly  cultivated  grounds,  and  the  last  mentioned  grow  in  a 
moist  situation  near  a  never  failing  stream. 

The  uses  of  this  tree  in  England  and  on  the  continent  of  Eu- 
rope, are  very  numerous.  Its  wood  is  of  a  brownish  color,  and 
is  hard  and  fine  grained,  and  of  great  lateral  adhesion,  and  it  is 
little  liable  to  crack  or  split  when  exposed  to  sun  or  weather. 
It  is  therefore  much  employed  for  ship's  blocks,  and  other 
wooden  parts  of  the  rigging.  It  is  also  remarkable  for  its  dura- 
bility in  water.  It  is  employed  for  the  keels  of  large  ships,  and 
for  pumps,  water-pipes  and  troughs  ;  for  mills  and  water-wheels, 
piles,  ship-planks  beneath  the  water  line ;  also  for  gates  and 
rails,  the  knotty  for  hubs  of  wheels,   the  straight  and  smooth 


X.     1.  THE  ENGLISH  ELM.  303 

for  axle-trees,  and  for  innumerable  other  purposes.  A  variety- 
called  the  Twisted  Elm,  Orme  tortillard,  is  very  highly  valued 
in  France  for  its  extreme  toughness,  and  also  for  the  beauty  of 
its  grain.  When  frequently  pruned,  the  wood  of  the  elm  be- 
comes knotted,  and  is  prized  by  cabinet-makers  in  France.  It 
takes  a  fine  polish,  is  very  ornamental,  and,  when  stained,  ex- 
tremely beautiful.  The  knobs  which  grow  on  old  trees  are  re- 
markable for  the  curious  interlacing  and  twisting  of  fibres,  and 
as  veneers,  are  used,  like  mahogany,  for  articles  of  furniture. 

As  among  the  ancient  Romans,  so  in  France  at  the  present 
day,  the  leaves  and  shoots  are  used  to  feed  cattle.  In  Russia, 
the  leaves  of  a  variety  are  used  as  a  substitute  for  tea.  The 
inner  bark  is  in  some  places  made  into  mats,  and  in  Norway, 
they  kiln-dry  it,  and  grind  it  with  corn  as  an  ingredient  in 
bread. 

The  European  elm  "produces  abundance  of  suckers  from 
the  roots,  both  near  and  at  a  great  distance  from  the  stem  ;  and 
throughout  Europe  these  afford  the  most  ready  mode  of  prop- 
agation, and  that  which  appears  to  have  been  most  generally 
adopted,  till  the  establishment  of  regular  commercial  nurseries. 
On  the  Continent,  plants  are  very  often  procured  from  stools, 
simply  by  heaping  up  earth  about  the  shoots  which  proceed 
from  them.  These  shoots  root  into  the  earth ;  and,  after  grow- 
ing three  or  four  years,  during  which  time  they  attain  the 
height  of  ten  feet  or  fifteen  feet,  they  are  slipped  off;  and  either 
planted  where  they  are  finally  to  remain,  or  in  nursery  lines. 
When  they  are  transplanted  to  their  final  situation,  the  side 
shoots  are  cut  off;  and  the  main  stem  is  headed  down  to  the 
height  of  eight  feet  or  ten  feet;  so  that  newly  planted  trees  ap- 
pear nothing  more  than  naked  truncheons.  The  first  year,  a 
great  many  shoots  are  produced  from  the  upper  extremity  of 
each  truncheon  ;  and  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  or  in  the  sec- 
ond spring,  these  shoots  are  all  cut  off  but  one,  which  soon  forms 
an  erect  stem,  and  as  regular  a  headed  tree  as  if  no  decapitation 
had  previously  taken  place.  All  the  avenues  and  rows  of  elm 
trees  in  Europe  were  planted  in  this  manner  previously  to  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  and,  according  to  Poiteau, 


304        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  same  practice  is  still  the  most  general  in  France." — Lou- 
don's Arboretum.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1383. 

In  England,  trees  are  planted  without  being  headed  down, 
but  on  the  Continent,  from  the  greater  warmth  of  the  summers, 
they  are  apt  to  be  killed,  when  transplanted  with  their  branches, 
in  consequence  of  the  great  evaporation  from  their  leaves.  Our 
summers  are  even  hotter  than  those  of  the  Continent  of  Eu- 
rope, and  the  practice  which  has  been  so  long  found  perfectly- 
successful  there,  will  be  likely  to  be  better  suited  to  our  climate 
than  the  English  mode. 

A  practice  recommended  by  Evelyn,  (Discourse,  p.  127,)  is 
still  in  use  abroad,  and  may,  in  some  cases,  be  very  convenient. 
When,  as  is  often  the  case  in  this  country,  no  suckers  spring  up 
round  the  tree,  "bare  some  of  the  master-roots  of  a  vigorous 
tree  within  a  foot  of  the  trunk,  or  thereabouts,  and  with  your 
axe  make  several  chops,  putting  a  small  stone  into  every  cleft, 
to  hinder  the  closure,  and  give  access  to  the  wet;  then  cover 
Ihem  with  three  or  four  inches  of  earth,  and  thus  they  will  send 
forth  suckers  in  abundance;  I  assure  you,  one  single  elm,  thus 
well  ordered,  is  a  fair  nursery,  which,  after  two  or  three  years, 
you  may  separate  and  plant  in  the  ulmarium,,  or  place  designed 
for  them ;  and  which,  if  it  be  in  plumps,  as  they  call  them, 
within  ten  or  twelve  feet  of  each  other,  or  in  hedge-rows,  it  will 
be  better  ;  for  the  elm  is  a  tree  of  consort,  sociable,  and  so  af- 
fecting to  grow  in  company,  that  the  very  best  which  I  have 
ever  seen,  do  almost  touch  one  another :  this  also  protects  them 
from  the  winds,  and  causes  them  to  shoot  of  an  extraordinary 
height,  so  as,  in  little  more  than  forty  years,  they  arrive  to  a 
load  of  timber,  provided  they  be  sedulously  and  carefully  culti- 
vated, and  the  soil  propitious ;  for  an  elm  does  not  thrive  so 
well  in  the  forest,  as  where  it  may  enjoy  scope  for  the  roots  to 
dilate  and  spread  at  the  sides,  as  in  hedge-rows  and  avenues, 
where  they  have  the  air  likewise  free." 

I  have  been  thus  particular  in  regard  to  the  English  Elm, 
because  of  its  great  beauty  and  rapid  growth,  and  the  value  of 
its  timber,  in  which  last  particulars  it  is  doubtless  superior  to 
the  American  Elm,  as,  in  the  others,  it  is  little  if  at  all  inferior. 


X.    2.  THE  SCOTCH  ELM.  305 


Sp.  4.     The  Scotch  Elm.      Ulmus  monlana.    Bauhin. 

Another  elm  which  has  been  partially  introduced  in  this  coun- 
try, and  is  very  much  cultivated  in  Scotland,  and  the  northern 
parts  of  England,  is  the  Scotch  Elm,  otherwise  called  the 
Wych  Elm,  or  Wych  Hazel.  For  many  purposes,  its  wood  is 
preferred  to  that  of  the  English  Elm,  as  it  splits  more  freely. 
On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  inferior.  It  resembles  our  Slippery 
Elm. 

There  are  several  other  species  of  elm  known  in  this  coun- 
try, though  I  have  never  found  them  in  Massachusetts.  The 
River  Elm,  U.  nemoralis,  is  said  by  Pursh,  (N.  A.  Flora,  p. 
200,)  to  occur,  rarely,  on  the  banks  of  rivers  from  New  Eng- 
land to  Virginia.  He  speaks  of  having  seen  it  growing.  It  is 
characterized  as  having  oblong,  smoothish  leaves,  equally  ser- 
rate, and  nearly  equal  at  base,  with  sessile  flowers.  Michaux 
mentions  an  elm  which  he  saw  in  Maine,  and  on  the  Champlain, 
differing  from  those  which  have  been  described,  but  which  more 
nearly  resembled  the  common  elm. 

There  is  described  and  figured  in  Silliman's  Journal,  (XIX, 
p.  170,)  by  David  Thomas,  a  new  species  of  elm  which  he 
calls  Racemed  Elm,  U.  racembsa,  whose  specific  character  he 
gives  thus : — 

"  Ulmus  racemosa. — Flowers  in  racemes  ;  pedicels  in  distinct 
fascicles;  united  at  their  bases.  A  tree.  Lower  branches, 
with  irregular  corky  excrescences.  Leaves,  ovate,  acuminate ; 
auriculate  on  one  side ;  doubly  serrate ;  above,  glabrous ; 
under  side  and  ribs,  minutely  pubescent.  Racemes,  of  sev- 
eral fascicles,  (often  three  or  four,  with  a  terminal  flower;) 
one  to  two  and  a  half  inches  long — from  the  sides  of  the 
last  year's  branches,  and  often  garnished  with  small  but  per- 
fect leaves,  before  the  terminal  buds  open.  Fascicles  of  from 
two  to  four  flowers.  Flowers,  pedicellate.  Calyx,  from  seven 
to  eight-cleft.  Stamens,  from  seven  to  ten.  Stigmas  two,  re- 
curved. Samara,  ovate,  pubescent;  membrane  more  extended 
on  one  side ;  margin  densely  fringed.  A  native  of  Cayuga 
40 


306        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

County,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  of  the  adjacent  country." 
Silliman's  Journal,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  170. 

It  is  possible  that  this  elm,  which  has  some  affinity  with  the 
Cork  Elm  of  Europe,  though  evidently  a  distinct  tree,  may  be 
found  in  the  western  part  of  this  State.  I  have  seen  some 
small  trees  resembling  it  in  the  corky  bark,  while  in  other  res- 
pects they  were  like  the  common  elm. 

X.  2.  THE  NETTLE  TREE.  CELTIS.     L. 

This  genus  contains  handsome  trees,  or  tall  shrubs,  natives 
of  North  and  South  America,  Asia,  and  Europe,  with  alternate, 
deciduous,  unequal-sided,  strongly  nerved  leaves,  axillary  flow- 
ers, with  five  stamens,  and  a  calyx  of  five  divisions ;  and  small, 
sweet,  wholesome  stone  fruit.  The  nettle  trees  are  of  a  strik- 
ingly elegant  appearance,  from  the  breadth  of  their  ample  and 
richly  tufted  head.  They  grow  well  on  the  poorest  and  most 
arid  soils,  but  flourish  best  in  a  soil  which  is  rich  and  moist.  In 
such  situations,  their  growth  is  very  rapid.  The  wood  of  some 
of  the  species  is  remarkable  for  its  hardness  and  tenacity  ;  of 
others,  too  soft  to  be  of  much  use.  Their  foliage  is  rich  and 
abundant,  of  long  continuance,  and  not  liable  to  the  attacks  of 
insects,  and  is  remarkable  for  falling  almost  at  once.  The  flow- 
ers come  out  early,  before  the  leaves;  and  the  fruit,  which 
ripens  in  Autumn,  remains  on  the  tree  till  the  following  Spring. 
The  name  nettle  tree  has  been  given  from  the  resemblance  of 
the  leaves  to  those  of  some  species  of  nettle.  There  are  about 
twenty  species,  four  of  which  are  found  in  North  America. 
Several  of  these  trees  are  very  ornamental,  and  none  more  so 
than  the  two  found  in  Massachusetts. 

Sp.  1.     The  American  Nettle  Tree.     C.  occidentalis.    L. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  III,  Plate  114,  and  in  this  volume,  Plate  16.     The 
tree  is  well  represented  in  Loudon,  Arboretum,  VII,  Plates  192  and  193. 

This  fine  tree  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  an  elm,  and  is 
often,  by  careless  observers,  mistaken  for  one.  Its  branches 
have  something  of  the  drooping  character  of  those  of  the  com- 
mon elm,  but  much  less  than  they,  and   are  more  inclined  to 


X.     2.        THE  AMERICAN  NETTLE  TREE.  307 

spread  horizontally.  The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  grayish  and 
rough  bark.  It  seldom  extends  to  a  considerable  height,  with- 
out throwing  out  numerous,  slender  branches.  The  ultimate 
branchlets  are  extremely  slender,  downy  when  young,  and  cov- 
ered with  a  reddish  brown  bark.  The  leaves,  commonly  from 
one  and  a  half  to  three  inches  long,  and  from  one  to  two  broad, 
vary  much  on  the  fruit-bearing  and  on  the  vigorously  growing 
limbs.  On  the  latter,  they  are  large,  rather  thick,  broad  and 
conspicuously  serrate  ;  on  the  former,  they  are  smaller  and  more 
delicately  shaped,  more  sharply  serrate,  and  have  a  much  longer 
acumination.  On  both,  they  are  downy  when  young,  and  rough 
on  both  surfaces,  but  afterwards  become  nearly  smooth.  They 
are  ovate  in  their  general  outline,  acute,  rounded,  or  obtuse, 
and  sometimes  slightly  heart-shaped  at  base,  commonly  une- 
qual-sided, but  sometimes  equal-sided  ;  very  irregularly  dentate 
or  serrate  about  the  middle,  and  end  in  a  long,  taper,  entire 
point.  They  are  borne  on  slender  footstalks,  which  continue 
slightly  hairy  till  late  in  the  season.  The  leaves  are  of  a  dark 
green,  which  turns  to  a  bright  yellow  in  autumn,  when  they 
fall  nearly  all  together. 

The  flowers  come  out  very  early,  on  long  footstalks,  from 
one  to  three  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  They  have  a  calyx  of 
five,  or  sometimes  six  divisions,  with  five  or  six  stamens.  The 
lower  flowers  have  usually  stamens  only,  and  are  barren ;  the 
upper,  solitary  flowers  have  also  an  ovary  which  becomes  a 
fruit.  This  is  sweet  to  the  taste,  about  the  size  of  a  wild  cher- 
ry, has  a  large  stone,  and,  when  perfectly  ripe,  is  of  a  dark  pur- 
ple color.  The  tree  might  be  described  to  one  who  wished  to 
be  able  to  recognize  it,  as  an  elm,  bearing  purple,  sweet  cherries, 
which  continued  on  the  stem  through  the  winter. 

Douglas  says  that  this  tree  is  found  on  the  rocky  banks  of 
the  Columbia  River  in  places  so  dry  that  no  other  tree  can 
grow  there.  Michaux  had  never  observed  it  northward  of  the 
Connecticut  River.  I  have  found  it,  never  in  great  numbers, 
in  almost  every  county  in  the  State.  It  was  pointed  out  to  me 
at  Savin  Hill,  by  Dr.  Bigelow,  and  in  Dorchester  by  Dr.  Harris. 
It  is  almost  every  where  so  rare,  that  its  name  is  unknown,  and 
it  might  well  be  called,  as  it  was  by  the  French  in  Illinois,  Bois 


308        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

mconmi,  unknown  wood.  In  Bristol  County,  where  it  is  often 
found,  and  whence  a  fine  specimen  of  the  wood  was  sent  me  by 
an  attentive  observer  of  nature,  Micah  Ruggles,  Esq.,  of  Fall 
River,  it  is  called  False  Elm,  from  its  strong  resemblance.  In 
Middlesex,  it  is  so  rare  that  a  friend,  whose  eye  is  open  to  what- 
ever is  curious  in  nature,  and  who  showed  me  specimens  of  its 
leaves,  had  been  unable  to  find  any  name  for  it  among  the  com- 
mon people,  his  neighbors.  It  is,  throughout  the  State,  a  small 
tree,  seldom  rising  above  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  height,  and  twenty 
or  twenty -four  inches  in  diameter. 

It  is  said  by  Torrey,  who  gives  it  the  name  of  beaver  wood 
and  hoop  ash,  to  be  found  particularly  in  rocky  situations,  on 
the  banks  of  rivers.  Specimens  of  the  leaves  and  wood  have 
been  sent  me  from  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  under  the  names 
of  sweet  gum  and  sugar  berry.  Elliot  says  that  along  the 
margin  of  salt  water,  in  the  sea  islands  of  Carolina,  where  it 
grows  in  light,  rich  soils,  it  sometimes  attains  the  height  of  sixty 
or  eighty  feet,  and  a  diameter  of  three  or  four.  Michaux  had 
found  it  in  greatest  vigor  on  the  Savannah,  where,  in  a  cool 
and  shady  situation,  he  had  seen  trees  sixty  or  seventy  feet 
high,  and  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  in  diameter. 

This  is  so  rare  a  tree,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  that 
any  one  is  acquainted  with  the  qualities  of  its  wood.  Michaux 
supposed,  from  its  similarity  to  the  European  nettle  tree,  that  it 
must  have  the  same  properties.  That  tree,  C.  Australis,  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  Lotus  of  the  ancients,  the  sweet  fruit 
of  which  was  the  food  of  the  lotophagi,  and  which  Homer 
describes  as  so  delicious,  that  those  who  ate  thereof,  straight- 
way forgot  their  native  country,  or  lost  all  desire  to  return 
home. 

The  European  is  a  small  tree,  seldom  fifty  feet  high  or  three  in 
circumference.  Its  wood  is  extremely  compact,  taking  a  place 
between  that  of  the  live  oak  and  the  box  for  density  and  hard- 
ness. It  weighs,  when  dry,  according  to  Baudrillart,  70  lbs.  3 
oz.  per  cubic  foot.  It  is  susceptible  of  a  high  polish,  and,  when 
cut  obliquely  across  the  fibres,  resembles  satin  wood.  It  is  used 
for  making  furniture,  and  by  carvers  for  images  of  the  saints. 
The  branches  are  very  supple,  tough,  and  elastic,  and  are  much 


X.    2.  THE  HACK  BERRY.  309 

used,  in  the  south  of  France,  for  making  hay-forks.  In  that 
country,  plantations  of  it,  for  that  purpose,  are  common.  In 
the  department  of  Gard,  seven  acres  of  rocky  land,  unfit  for 
any  other  use,  planted  with  nettle  trees,  yield,  annually,  five 
thousand  dozen  of  hay-forks,  giving  a  revenue  of  five  thousand 
dollars  yearly.  When  cut  close  to  the  ground,  the  stem  sends  up 
numerous  vigorous  shoots,  of  great  flexibility.  Planted  close,  in 
masses,  they  rise  to  considerable  height,  without  much  thick- 
ness, furnishing  admirable  handles  for  coach-whips,  ramrods 
for  muskets,  and  walking-sticks.  And  so  highly  are  they  val- 
ued that,  according  to  Baudrillart,  all  the  coachmen  in  Europe 
are  supplied  from  plantations  on  rich  soil  in  Narbonne,  which 
are  made  expressly  for  this  purpose.  It  is  also  used  for  the 
shafts  and  axletrees  of  carriages,  the  naves  of  wheels,  and  for 
musical  instruments.  The  root  is  used  for  dyeing  yellow  ;  the 
bark  for  tanning  ;  and  an  oil  is  expressed  from  the  stones  of  the 
fruit. — Loudorfs  Arb.^  1415. 

Sp.  2.     The  Hack  Berry.     C.  crdssifolia. 

Leaves  and  fruit  represented  (incorrectly)  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  III,  Plate  115. 

Michaux  assigned  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  as  the  north- 
eastern limit  of  the  hack  berry.  I  find,'  however,  that  it  grows 
in  Massachusetts,  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut.  Specimens 
of  the  leaves,  which  I  had  gathered  as  those  of  the  nettle  tree, 
turn  out,  on  careful  examination,  to  belong  to  this  tree.  I  have 
found  it  in  only  two  places  : — in  Springfield,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Connecticut  River,  and  in  West  Springfield,  on  the  west. 
Some  of  the  trees  are,  I  hope,  still  standing.  The  most  remark- 
able one  has  been  destroyed.  It  grew  a  few  rods  north  of  the 
Hampden  House,  in  the  broad  county  road,  in  Springfield. 
When  I  measured  it,  in  September,  1838,  its  girth,  at  three  feet 
from  the  ground,  was  sixteen  feet  ten  inches ;  at  four,  it  was 
fourteen  feet  three  inches  ;  at  six,  thirteen  feet.  It  had  gnarled, 
projecting  roots,  putting  out  on  every  side  till  nearly  three  feet 
from  the  surface.  It  diminished,  gradually,  to  the  height  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  and  there  had  several  broad,  irregular  pro- 
tuberances, where  it  had  lost  large  limbs.    Above  this  it  tapered 


310        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

rapidly,  dividing  into  three  branches,  which  formed  a  small, 
round,  rather  dense  top,  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high.  It  was  covered 
with  a  very  rough,  brownish  gray  bark,  and  had,  altogether, 
so  much  the  aspect  of  an  elm,  that  it  was,  almost  universally, 
taken  for  one.  I  was  informed  that  a  still  larger  tree  of  the 
same  kind  had  formerly  grown  near  it.  Within  two  years,  this 
noble  tree  has  fallen,  like  its  brother,  before  the  axe  of  improve- 
ment. The  leaf-bearing  branchlets  are  very  slender,  slightly 
downy,  and  covered  with  a  reddish  brown  bark.  The  buds 
are  small,  compressed,  and  rather  pointed.  The  leaves  are 
four  or  five  inches  long  and  less  than  two  wide,  borne  on  a 
small,  round,  short,  somewhat  hairy  stalk.  They  are  unequal- 
sided,  the  side  next  the  branch  being  much  broader  than  the 
other  and  strongly  half-heart-shaped ;  the  other  side  being  some- 
times, but  not  always,  half-hearted  ;  they  are  oblong,  tapering 
very  slowly,  ending  in  a  long  acumination,  and  sharply  serrate 
almost  to  the  very  point ;  rough  on  both  surfaces,  bright  green 
above,  pale  beneath.  They  are  less  thick  than  the  leaves  of  the 
nettle  tree  ;  although,  in  other  respects,  they  correspond  suffi- 
ciently well  with  the  description  and  figure  of  Michaux.*  To 
him  and  to  other  writers,  I  am  indebted  for  the  remainder  of 
this  description ;  for  I  have  not  seen  the  flowers,  fruit  or  wood. 
The  trunk  is  commonly  straight  and  without  branches  to  a 
great  height.  The  bark  is  grayish  and  broken,  thickly  and 
irregularly  set  with  hard,  blackish,  permanent,  corky  asperities. 
The  branches  are  nearly  horizontal  and  slender.  The  branch- 
lets  inclined  or  pendent,  small,  close-set,  brown,  scattered  with 
small,  whitish  warts;  the  young  ones  green,  more  or  less  downy. 
The  leaves  on  the  vigorous  shoots  are  from  four  to  seven  inches 
long,  and  often  of  equal  breadth,  deeply  toothed  and  rough, 
sometimes  almost  equal-sided,  sometimes  exactly  heart-shaped, 
sometimes  half-heart-shaped,  or  ovate-lanceolate.  The  stipules 
are  linear-lanceolate  and  pointed.  Flowers  of  the  size  of  those 
of  the  nettle  tree,  with  the  segments  of  the  perianth  oblong, 
obtuse,  fringed  at  tip,  ciliate  on  the  border.    Ovary  conical,  sur- 

*  Spach,  who  is  familiar  with  the  tree  as  cultivated  in  France,  finds  fault  with 
this  figure,  because  the  fruits  are  incorrectly  represented  as  black,  and  as  growing 
upon  a  stout  and  vigorous  shoot  with  large  and  thick  leaves. 


X.    2.  THE  HACK  BERRY.  311 

mounted  with  stigmas  twice  its  own  length.  Fruit-stalks  half 
an  inch  long.  Drupe  of  the  size  of  a  large  pea,  and  of  a  brown- 
ish red. — Spachy  XI,  431. 

Michaux  says,  "  This  is  one  of  the  finest  trees  that  compose 
the  dusky  forests  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Ohio.  It  associates 
with  the  button  wood,  black  walnut,  butternut,  bass  wood,  black 
sugar  maple,  elm  and  sweet  locust,  which  it  equals  in  stature 
but  not  in  bulk,  being  sometimes  more  than  eighty  feet  high, 
with  a  disproportionate  diameter  of  eighteen  or  twenty  inches. 

'•The  wood  is  fine-grained  and  compact,  but  not  heavy,  and 
when  freshly  exposed  it  is  perfectly  white  :  sawn  in  a  direction 
parallel  or  oblique  to  its  concentrical  circles,  it  exhibits  the  fine 
undulations  that  are  observed  in  the  elm  and  the  locust.  On 
laying  open  the  sap  of  this  tree  in  the  spring,  I  have  remarked, 
without  being  able  to  account  for  the  phenomenon,  that  it 
changes  in  a  few  minutes  from  pure  white  to  green.  On  the 
Ohio  and  in  Kentucky,  where  the  best  opportunity  is  afforded 
of  appreciating  this  wood,  it  is  little  esteemed,  on  account  of  its 
weakness  and  its  speedy  decay  when  exposed  to  the  weather. 
It  is  rejected  by  wheelwrights,  but  is  sometimes  employed  in 
building,  for  the  covering  which  supports  the  shingles.  As  it  is 
elastic  and  easily  divided,  it  is  used  for  the  bottom  of  common 
chairs,  and  by  the  Indians  for  baskets.  On  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  it  is  frequently  taken  for  the  rails  of  rural  fence,  and  is 
wrought  with  the  greatest  ease,  as  it  is  straight-grained  and 
free  from  knots  :  it  is  said,  also,  to  afford  excellent  charcoal. 

"  The  hack  berry  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  trees 
of  its  genus,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  for  height  and  for 
majesty  of  form.  In  rich  soils,  the  luxuriance  of  its  vegetation 
is  shown  by  sprouts,  six,  eight,  and  ten  feet  in  length,  garnished 
on  each  side  with  large,  substantial  leaves.  In  France,  it  is 
principally  esteemed  for  the  rapidity  of  its  growth." — Sylva, 
III,  47—48. 

Spach  says  it  grows  readily  on  all  kinds  of  soil,  and  is  re- 
markable for  its  beauty  and  for  the  rapidity  of  its  growth. 

There  are  two  trees  of  this  family  of  such  value  for  their 
wood,  and  of  such  beauty,  that  they  ought  not  to  be  passed 


312       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

without  notice.  The  one  is  the  Planer  tree,  Planera  ulmifolia, 
of  Michaux,  which  is  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  The  other  is  the  Zelkoua 
or  Tselkwa,  Planera  Richardi,  of  Michaux,  a  native  of  the 
country  between  the  Black  and  Caspian  Seas,  from  lat.  35°  to 
47°.  This  was  introduced  into  France  in  1782,  by  the  elder 
Michaux,  and  has  since  been  cultivated  both  in  that  country 
and  England.  Its  trunk  resembles  that  of  a  beech,  being  kept 
smooth  by  the  exfoliation  of  the  outer  bark.  It  is  a  lofty, 
richly  tufted  and  picturesque  tree,  remarkable  for  its  rapid 
growth,  and  for  its  shining  green  leave.s  being  not  liable  to  the 
attacks  of  insects.  Its  wood  is  of  very  great  value,  extremely 
beautiful,  heavy,  dense  and  hard,  finely-veined  and  susceptible 
of  the  highest  polish,  and  surpassing  oak  in  durability,  never 
becoming  worm-eaten,  however  old  it  may  be. 

There  is  another  tree,  belonging  to  the  family  of  Balsama- 
cecB,  for  which  I  have  hitherto  searched  New  England  in  vain, 
which  yet  is  probably  found  here ;  as  it  occurs  abundantly  in 
parts  of  New  York  nearest  us.  It  is  the  Sweet  Gum,  Liquid- 
ambar  styraciflua,  whose  star-like  leaves  are  so  conspicuously 
beautiful  in  the  woods  of  New  Jersey  in  autumn. 


FAMILY  XI.     THE   SANDAL  WOOD  FAMILY.     SANTADACEJE. 

R.  Brown. 

This  family,  which  receives  its  name  from  the  Santalum,  one 
species  of  which  produces  the  well-known  odoriferous  sandal- 
wood, comprehends  trees,  shrubs,  under-shrubs  and  herbs.  The 
flower-cup  is  three-  or  five-cleft,  greenish  and  leaf-like  exter- 
nally, and  colored  internally.  A  fleshy  disk  which  is  entire  or 
lobed,  occupies  the  bottom  of  the  flower,  and  adheres  to  the  base 
of  the  flower-cup,  or  to  the  ovary.  The  stamens  are  equal  in 
number  to  the  lobes  of  the  flower-cup,  or  twice  as  many.  The 
ovary  is  one-celled,  with  from  one  to  four  ovules.  The  fruit  is 
a  drupe  or  nut,  one-celled  and  one-seeded.  The  leaves  are 
alternate,  and  undivided.     In  North  America,  it  includes  trees, 


XI.  THE  TUPELO  TREE.  313 

as  well  as  some  small  herbaceous  plants;  in  New  Holland,  the 
East  Indies,  and  the  South  Sea  Islands,  trees  and  shrubs;  in 
Europe,  only  in  conspicuous  weeds. 

One  genus  of  the  trees  of  Massachusetts  belongs  to  it,  The 
Tupelo,  Nyssa.  L.  This  is  placed  by  some  writers,*  in  the 
Linnsean  class  Dioecia,  order  Pentandria ;  by  others,f  in  Pentan- 
dria,  Monogynia;  by  Linnaeus  himself  and  others,  |  in  his  class 
Poly  garni  a. 

On  different  trees  three  kinds  of  flowers  are  found,  some  con- 
taining only  stamens,  others  stamens  and  a  pistil ;  others  only  a 
pistil.  None  have  a  proper  corolla.  In  the  staminate  flowers, 
the  calyx  is  five-parted;  the  stamens  from  five  to  ten  or  twelve, 
inserted  around  a  glandlike  disk.  In  the  pistillate  flowers,  the 
calyx  is  five-cleft;  stamens  five  or  none;  the  style  simple,  often 
revolute ;  succeeded  by  a  one-seeded,  somewhat  fleshy  drupe, 
containing  an  ovate,  striate  nut. 

This  genus  is  confined  to  North  America.  The  trees  grow 
by  streams  or  stagnant  waters.  They  have  alternate  leaves, 
entire,  or  with  large  angular  teeth,  and  are  smooth,  reticulate  or 
downy  beneath;  and  flowers  springing  from  the  axil  of  the 
leaves,  the  male  in  racemes  or  heads,  the  fertile  solitary,  or  with 
two  or  three  on  a  stem. 

Of  the  trees  of  this  kind  found  in  this  State,  varying  exceed- 
ingly in  their  shape,  and  especially  in  their  leaves,  I  have  had 
great  hesitation,  whether  to  consider  them  as  belonging  to  two 
or  three  species,  or  only  as  varieties  of  one.  I  am  rather  in- 
clined to  the  latter  conclusion,  and  that  they  belong  to  the  spe- 
cies which  has  been  called 

THE  TUPELO  TREE.     Ni/ssa  multiflora.     Walter. 

In  Bristol  County,  and  the  other  south-eastern  counties,  this 
is  called  the  Snag  Tree,  and  sometimes  Horn  Pine.  In  the 
western  parts  of  the  State,  it  is  called  Pepperidge;  and  often,  in 
every  part,  it  is  called  Hornbeam,  from  the  extreme  toughness 
of  the  wood.  It  is  nowhere  called  Gum  Tree,  by  which  name 
it  is  commonly  known  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States.     The 

*  Nuttall,  Elliott.  |  Darlington.  %  Bigelow. 

41 


314       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

most  suitable  name,  and  one  not  appropriated  to  any  other  tree, 
is  Tupelo,  the  name  by  which  it  and  several  other  species  of 
this  genus  were  known  to  some  tribes  of  the  aborigines. 

The  Tupelo  is  always  a  striking,  and  often  a  very  beautiful 
tree.  It  usually  rises  to  a  height  of  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty 
feet ;  but  in  dense,  moist  woods,  where  it  has  been  surrounded  by 
other  tall  trees,  I  have  seen  it  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high.  No 
tree  varies  more  in  its  aspect.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Boston, 
where  it  abounds,  especially  in  the  low  grounds  in  Cambridge, 
on  the  borders  of  Jamaica  Pond,  and  in  other  places  in  Brook- 
line,  it  is  a  low  tree,  throwing  out  a  very  great  number  of 
horizontal  or  drooping  branches,  forming  a  short,  cylindrical 
head,  flat  above.  Where  it  has  long  stood  by  itself,  and  its  nat- 
ural tendency  has  been  completely  unimpeded,,  it  forms  a  low, 
very  broad,  palm-like  head.  Sometimes  it  is  pyramidal  or  con- 
ical ;  and  sometimes  the  dense  mass  of  foliage  has  the  shape  of 
an  inverted  cone,  very  broad  and  fiat  at  top. 

The  trunk,  which  is  almost  always  erect,  and  which  seldom 
rises  many  feet, — commonly  not  more  than  six  or  seven, — be- 
fore it  throws  out  branches, — is  invested  with  a  dark  ashy  gray 
bark,  much,  but  not  deeply  broken  by  longitudinal  furrows.  In 
very  old  stocks  it  is  sometimes  broken  into  somewhat  regular 
polygons.  The  branches,  which  are  far  more  numerous  than  on 
any  other  tree,  frequently  so  close  to  each  other,  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  room  for  more,  are  almost  uniformly  horizontal 
near  the  trunk,  and  arch  downwards  towards  the  extremities. 
Often  very  crooked,  they  are  thickly  set  with  smaller  ramifica- 
tions, which  form  a  short  spray,  projecting  in  every  direction. 
The  bark  on  the  new  shoots  is  of  a  bright  apple  or  reddish 
green,  on  the  older  branchlets  it  is  red  or  brownish,  shining 
through  a  pearly,  thin  epidermis.  The  leaves,  which  are  alter- 
nate on  the  growing  shoots,  but  in  tufts  of  four  or  more  on  the 
ends  of  the  lateral  branchlets,  are  of  a  resplendent  green  above, 
reflecting  the  light  like  those  of  a  tropical  plant.  They  are 
somewhat  paler  beneath,  and  vary  in  shape  from  lanceolate  to 
broad  oval,  and  obovate,  and  in  size  from  one  inch  to  four  or  five 
inches  in  length,  and  from  one  half  an  inch  to  two  inches  in 
breadth.     They  are  usually  wedge-shaped  at  base,  sometimes 


XI.  THE  TUPELO  TREE.  315 

taper  to  a  long  point,  sometimes  are  obtuse,  and  even  emargi- 
nate  or  slightly  notched,  at  the  extremity.     Generally,  they  are 
entire  at  the  edge,  but  I  am  acquainted  with  some  trees  which 
constantly  bear  leaves  of  a  very  large  size,   and  notched  with 
several  large  teeth  towards  the  extremity.     The  surface  is  some- 
times perfectly  smooth  above  and  below,  most  frequently  hairy 
or   downy  beneath,  especially  when  young.     The  texture  is 
rather  firm  and  coriaceous.     They  are  borne  on  short,  roundish 
petioles,  flat  above,  green,  or  of  a  rich  scarlet  or  crimson  color, 
when  exposed  to  light ;  and  to  some  shade  of  these  colors,  the 
whole  leaf  turns  in  early  autumn.     The  petiole  often  has  an 
expansion  or  margin  on  each  side,  and  is  invested  with  ciliate 
rows  of  hairs,   which  usually  fall  off  as  the  leaf  grows  old. 
The  sterile  flowers  sometimes  form  little  umbels  or  heads  of 
from  four  to  eight  greenish  flowers  on  the  end  of  a  downy  foot- 
stalk of  a  uniform  size,  and  an  inch  or  less  in  length — some- 
times the  footstalk  terminates  in  an  open  cluster  of  from  two  to 
five  or  six  flowers,  which  are  very  small,    and  of  a  yellowish 
green,  and  rest  on  very  short  stalks.     The  flower  consists  of 
from  four  to  eight,  oblong,  or  ovate,  pointed,  obtuse,  or  emargi- 
nate,  green  sepals,  with  from  four  to  eight  stamens  rising  from 
beneath  or  from  the  edge  of  a  glaucous,  fleshy  disk. 

The  fertile  flowers  form  a  close  whorl  of  three  or  more  very 
small  flowers,  sometimes  but  two  or  one,  on  the  end  of  a  short 
club-shaped  footstalk,  which  lengthens  as  the  fruit  advances, 
till  it  becomes  one  or  two  inches  long.  The  fruit,  of  which 
seldom  more  than  one  or  two,  on  the  same  footstalk,  come  to 
perfection,  is  an  oblong  or  elliptic  drupe,  of  a  deep  blue-black, 
when  mature,  consisting  of  a  little  acid  flesh,  enveloping  a  very 
hard  stone,  longitudinally  striated. 

Very  little  use  is  made  of  the  wood  of  this  tree.  From  the 
crossing  and  intertwining  of  its  fibres,  it  is  excessively  difficult 
to  split,  and  therefore,  when  employed  as  fuel,  it  is  reserved  for 
logs  and  back-sticks.  In  the  Middle  States,  it  is  used  to  form 
the  naves  of  wheels.  But,  for  this  purpose,  it  is  less  suitable 
than  the  elm,  as  it  is  said  to  be  more  liable  to  decay  when  exposed 
to  the  weather.  It  has  been  sometimes  turned  into  bowls  and 
other  wooden  vessels,  for  which  its  toughness  renders  it  pecu- 


316        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

liarly  fit.  It  is  better  fitted  than  any  other  tree  to  be  made  into 
the  pipes  of  aqueducts,  as  it  requires  no  hoops ;  and  it  has  been 
extensively  employed  for  this  purpose  in  the  salt  works  at  Syr- 
acuse and  the  neighboring  towns,  in  New  York.  It  is  of  a 
yellowish  color  when  freshly  cut. 

As  an  ornamental  tree  the  Tupelo  deserves  more  attention 
than  it  has  received.  The  brilliant  color  of  the  green  of  the 
leaves,  and  the  rich  scarlet  and  crimson  to  which  they  turn 
in  autumn,  at  which  season  some  of  the  trees  are  covered  with 
the  bright  blue  fruit,  make  it  always  a  beautiful  object. 

I  have  been  often  struck  with  the  appearance  of  extreme 
vigor  and  healthfulness  in  the  young  trees — and  some  of  the 
old  ones  are  amongst  the  noblest  in  the  State. 

There  is  a  tree  of  this  kind  at  Cohasset,  which  was  first 
pointed  out  to  me  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Greenwood,  a  man  of  taste, 
who  was  a  lover  of  trees,  and  which  we  rode  twenty-five  miles 
expressly  to  see.  It  is  richly  worth  a  much  longer  journey.  It 
stands  in  a  lone  pasture,  half  a  mile  or  more  eastward  from  a 
place  called  the  Gulf.  At  the  surface,  just  above  the  roots,  it  is 
eleven  feet  in  circumference,  and  it  is  nine  feet  and  two  inches, 
up  to  the  larger  branches,  which  begin  at  about  seven  feet  from 
the  ground.  The  trunk  loses  little  of  its  diameter  for  near 
twenty  feet,  although  in  that  space,  twenty  large  branches,  and 
many  small  ones  put  out.  These  are  very  large,  and  project 
horizontally  on  every  side,  to  a  great  distance,  with  an  air  of 
mighty  strength  and  power  of  resistance.  The  bark  is  cleft 
into  long  prismatic  ridges,  nearly  two  inches  high,  which,  on 
the  larger  branches,  are  broken  into  hexagons,  with  an  approach 
to  geometric  regularity.  It  is  of  a  mouse  color,  or  purplish 
ashy  gray,  with  white  clouds  of  pertusaria,  and  greenish  and 
bluish  ash  parmelias.  The  height  is  forty  or  fifty  feet.  The 
average  breadth  of  the  head  sixty-three  feet,  its  extreme  breadth 
sixty-six.  The  whole  head  is  of  a  broad,  irregularly  hemi- 
spherical shape,  flat  at  top.  A  striking  circumstance  in  this  tree 
is  the  fact  that  the  enormous  horizontal  branches  push  out  as 
boldly  seaward  as  in  any  other  direction,  though  the  north-east 
wind  sweeps  from  the  Bay  in  this  quarter  with  a  violence  which 
has  bent  almost  every  other  tree  towards  the  land.     I  have  ob- 


XII.  THE  CINNAMON  FAMILY.  317 

served  many  other  instances  of  the  vigor  with  which  the  tupelo 
stands  out  against  the  sea  breeze. 

Another  fine  tree  of  the  same  kind  is  near  by,  rising  to  sev- 
enty or  eighty  feet  in  height,  without  large  branches  till  towards 
the  top. 

Farther  landward  is  a  noble  tree,  sixty  feet  high,  with  a  large 
flat  top.  This,  at  two  feet  from  the  surface,  is  six  feet  two 
inches  in  circumference;  and,  at  from  four  to  eight  or  nine  feet, 
five  feet  eight  inches.  Its  branches  are  small  and  nearly  erect, 
a  few  large  ones  coming  out  at  twenty  or  twenty -five  feet  from 
the  ground.  It  is  a  remarkable  thing  to  see  trees  of  the  same 
species  growing  near  each  other,  so  entirely  unlike  in  aspect 
and  habit  as  these. 

Three  or  four  other  species  of  Nyssa  are  found  in  the  United 
States,  and,  where  well  known,  are  considered  by  botanists  as 
distinct.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  these,  will  have  re- 
cognized, in  the  above  description,  which  is  taken  from  nature, 
peculiarities  of  some  of  the  other  species.  An  attentive  study 
of  the  protean  forms  of  the  oak,  has  led  me  to  doubt  the  value 
of  distinctions  of  nearly  allied  species,  founded  on  any  thing  but 
the  fruit.  Till  I  shall  have  had  better  opportunities  of  exam- 
ining the  fruit  of  the  several  varieties  of  Nyssa,  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  say,  confidently,  whether  there  is  only  one,  or  whether 
there  are  several  species  in  the  State. 

The  tupelo  is  found  around  the  ponds  in  Plymouth  County, 
about  Buzzard's  Bay,  in  the  swamps  in  Franklin,  and  the  other 
river  counties,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  State.  It  is  found  near 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States,  as 
far  as  Carolina  and  Georgia. 


FAMILY   XII.      THE   CINNAMON    FAMILY.     LAURINEJE. 

Ventenat. 

Most  of  the  plants  of  this  family  are  trees  of  great  beauty, 
and  often  of  a  lofty  stature.  It  also  contains  shrubs  and  a  few 
leafless,  parasitic,  climbing  herbs.     Only  eleven  or  twelve  spe- 


318        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

cies  were  known  to  Linnaeus,  all  belonging  to  the  genus  Laurus, 
but  the  family  now  contains  more  than  four  hundred  species, 
divided  into  more  than  thirty  genera,  of  which  the  greater 
part  are  natives  of  regions  between  the  tropics  ;  some  few  are 
found  in  the  northern  temperate  zone ;  and  Massachusetts 
is,  in  this  country,  very  nearly  their  northern  limit.  All  are 
remarkable  for  their  warm,  stimulating,  aromatic  proper- 
ties, owing,  usually,  to  essential  oils,  which  abound  in  their 
bark  and  leaves.  Several  species,  in  different  eastern  lands, 
yield  the  different  sorts  of  cinnamon  and  cassia,  the  genuine 
being  the  produce  of  varieties  of  the  Cinnambmum  zeylanicum. 
Camphor  is  extracted  from  the  roots  of  the  Camphora  officina- 
rum,  by  boiling.  It  is  also  found,  in  ample  or  minute  propor- 
tion, in  the  wood  of  the  trunk  or  root  of  many  other  species. 
The  delicious  Avocado  pear,  the  aguacate  of  the  Spaniards, 
often  called  by  the  English  the  Alligator  pear,  and  said  to  be 
worth  a  voyage  from  Europe  to  the  West  Indies  to  taste,  is 
produced  by  a  tree  of  this  family,  the  Persea  gratissima.  The 
wood  of  many  of  the  species,  found  in  southeastern  Asia,  re- 
tains the  pleasant  camphoretted  odor  many  years,  and  is  sought 
for  as  the  material  for  the  finishing  and  furniture  of  oriental 
dwellings ;  as  in  beauty,  hardness  and  durableness,  it  some- 
times vies  with  mahogany.  The  sweet-wood  timber  of  Jamaica, 
and  many  valuable  woods  of  South  America  are  produced  by 
trees  of  this  family.  The  botanical  name  is  derived  from  the 
only  plant  of  the  family  indigenous  to  Europe,  the  bay  tree, 
Lauras  nobllls,  the  laurel  of  the  ancients,  the  emblem  of  victory 
and  of  clemency,  and  sacred  to  their  god  Apollo.  Victorious 
generals  were  crowned  with  a  wreath  of  bay  leaves,  an  honor 
which,  in  later  times,  has  been  transferred  to  distinguished 
poets,  thence  called  poets  laureate.  The  name  of  baccalaureate 
degree,  that  of  bachelor  of  arts,  seems  to  have  had  a  similar 
origin  from  bacca  laurea,  the  laurel  berry. 

The  leaves  are  mostly  entire,  and  usually  coriaceous,  smooth 
and  shining.  The  flower-cup  is  of  one  piece,  with  four  or  six 
divisions  arranged  in  two  rows,  and  with  a  fleshy  disk  occupy- 
ing its  centre.  The  flowers  are  sometimes  perfect;  sometimes 
fertile  and  sterile  flowers  are  on  different  plants,  or  on  the  same. 


XII.     1.  THE  SASSAFRAS  TREE.  319 

The  stamens  are  as  numerous  as  the  divisions  of  the  flower- 
cup,  and  opposite  them,  or  two,  three,  four,  five  or  six  times  as 
numerous.  When  there  are  more  than  three  rows,  the  inner 
ones  are  sterile.  The  anthers  open  by  valves,  which  curve  up- 
wards. The  fruit  is  a  one-seeded  berry  or  a  drupe,  usually 
supported  by  a  thickened,  club-shaped  stalk. 

The  only  genera  found  in  this  State,  are  the  Sassafras  and 
the  Spice  Bush  or  Fever  Bush,  Benzoin;  the  former  a  tree,  the 
latter  a  shrub.  Both  have  six-parted  yellowish  flowers  with 
nine  stamens,  which  are  all  fertile  in  the  male  flowers ;  the  fe- 
male, six  sterile  ones. 

The  Sassafras  has  its  anthers  opening  with  four  valves,  and 
its  fruit  borne  on  a  stem  thickened  and  fleshy  at  the  extremity. 
The  Spice  Bush  has  anthers  with  only  two  valves,  and  its 
fruit-stalk  not  fleshy  at  the  extremity. 

XII.     1.     THE  SASSAFRAS  TREE.     SA'SSAFRAS 
OFFICINALE.     Nees  Yon  Esenbeck. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  144  ;  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  Plate  81  ; 
Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  II,  Plate  35. 

The  sassafras,  in  this  State,  rarely  reaches  thirty  feet  in  height 
and  a  foot  in  diameter.  I  have,  however,  measured  some  which 
were  forty  or  fifty  feet  high  and  nearly  two  feet  in  diameter. 
The  old  tree  is  a  striking  but  not  a  beautiful  object,  at  least 
when  the  trunk  is  visible,  which  is  rarely  erect,  but  usually 
bending  upwards,  and  sometimes  crooked.  The  bark,  on  old 
stems,  is  of  a  reddish  ash  color,  deeply  and  irregularly  cracked, 
with  the  sides  of  the  furrows  striated  with  black  and  gray 
lines,  showing  the  annual  layers.  The  color  of  the  interior 
of  the  bark  is  dark  red,  like  some  kinds  of  cinnamon.  The 
branches  are  numerous,  bare  and  crooked.  The  young  tree  is 
often  beautiful,  from  the  rich  color  of  the  luxuriant  foliage  and 
the  recent  shoots;  and  on  young  and  old  trees,  the  head  is 
broad,  round  and  finely  tufted.  The  living  bark  is  commonly 
free  from  most  kinds  of  lichens,  but  an  occasional  dead  branch 
will  be  found  covered  with  Lecanoras  and  Lecideas,  and  patches 
of  common  and  golden-eyed  Parmelias.     On  young  trees,  the 


320  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

bark  is  a  reddish  green,  striated  with  ash ;  the  branches  are  in 
imperfect  whorls,  and  stand  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  trunk, 
curving  slightly  from  branchlet  to  branchlet.  On  old  trees,  the 
appearance  of  regular  whorls  in  the  branches  is  lost,  from  the 
smaller  ones  being  outstripped  by  the  larger,  and  some  of  them 
dying ;  and  the  graceful  curvature  is  lost,  and  the  branches  are 
bare  and  crooked.  The  spray  is  long  and  irregular,  forming  a 
sharp  angle  with  the  small  branches,  and  curving  upwards.  It 
is  of  a  yellowish  green  color  and  downy  surface.  The  terminal 
buds  are  large,  ovate,  and  invested  at  base  with  three  or  four 
scales  of  the  color  of  the  twig. 

The  leaves  of  the  same  tree  are  remarkable  for  their  variety 
of  form.  They  are  supported  on  petioles  of  one  quarter  or  one 
fifth  the  length  of  the  leaf,  are  acute  or  wedge-shaped  at  base, 
often  entire,  sometimes  oval  with  an  imperfect  lateral  lobe, 
more  frequently,  especially  towards  the  ends  of  the  branches, 
dilated  and  three-lobed.  They  are  of  a  pleasant  green:  in  the 
autumn  becoming  a  delicate  buff,  leather  yellow  or  orange. 
The  scales  of  the  buds,  which  are  covered  with  down,  on  ex- 
panding, remain  to  protect  the  branch  of  leaves  and  flowers 
Avhich  they  enclosed,  and  which  are  alike  clothed  with  a  hairy 
or  silken  down.  This  disappears  from  the  upper  surface  of  the 
leaves  as  they  advance  in  age.  The  under  surface  is  marked 
by  prominent  veins.  The  flowers  are  on  pendulous  or  nodding, 
slender,  clustered  racemes,  in  the  axil  of  the  bud-scales,  below 
the  leaves,  around  the  base  of  the  recent  shoots.  Each  partial 
flower  stalk  has,  at  its  base,  a  slender,  thread-like,  villose  bract, 
as  long  as  the  foot-stalk.  In  the  sterile  flowers,  the  calyx  usually 
has  six  yellowish,  oblong,  petal-like  pieces,  united  at  base  to 
form  a  cup,  inside  of  which  and  opposite  them  are  six  stamens, 
forming  one  circle,  and  inside  them  and  opposite  the  alternate 
ones,  a  circle  of  three  stamens,  oti  each  side  of  each  one  of 
which  is  an  orange-colored  gland  on  a  short  stalk.  The  an- 
thers are  short,  having  two  cells  opening  inward,  and  above, 
two  smaller  cells  opening  obliquely  upwards.  The  style,  swell- 
ing at  base,  stands  freely  in  the  centre,  but  with  no  ovule  within. 

The  fertile  flowers  have  only  six  short,  imperfect  stamens,  in 
a  single  series.     Ovary  roundish,  stigma  on  a  short  style.     The 


XII.     1.  THE  SASSAFRAS  TREE.  321 

fruit  is  an  oblong  oval  drupe  of  a  dark  blue,  when  ripe,  sup- 
ported by  a  dark  red,  thickened,  club-shaped  footstalk.  They 
are  eagerly  sought  after  by  birds,  and  therefore  soon  disappear. 
When  perfectly  ripe,  and  before  they  have  begun  to  be  preyed 
upon,  they  form  a  beautiful  contrast  with  the  agreeable  green 
of  the  leaves. 

Few  of  the  insects  which  frequent  the  sassafras  trees  have 
been  attentively  studied.  Caterpillars  of  the  rabbit  tussock- 
moth,  Lagoa  opercularis  of  Dr.  Harris,  are  often  found  feeding 
on  their  leaves,  as  are  those  of  the  Saiurnia  Io ;  and  within  the 
leaves,  the  caterpillar  of  the  Attacus  Promethea  butterfly  spins 
its  cocoon  and  spends  the  winter. — (Harris's  Report,  pp.  265, 
2S1  and  2S3.)  The  leaves,  also,  sometimes  furnish  nourishment 
to  caterpillars  of  the  Ailacus  luna  butterfly. — (Drwy,  I,  45.) 

The  wood,  in  young  trees,  is  white,  but  becomes  reddish 
on  growing  old.  It  is  very  brittle,  and  branches  of  some  size 
may  be  broken  with  little  effort,  and  yet  the  seasoned  wood 
combines  lightness  and  toughness  in  a  higher  degree,  than  al- 
most any  other  wood,  and  is  therefore  preferred  for  the  purpose 
of  making  the  smaller  joints  of  fishing-rods.  It  is  soft  and  close- 
grained,  and  is  said  to  resist  decay  for  a  long  time,  when  exposed 
to  the  weather.  Its  odor  is  supposed  to  be  disagreeable  to  in- 
sects and  worms,  to  whose  attacks  it  is  said  not  to  be  liable; 
for  which  reason  it  is  sometimes  used  as  the  material  for  bed- 
steads, and  for  trunks  and  drawers  for  clothes.  It  is  also  used 
for  rafters  and  joists ;  as  fuel,  it  is  little  esteemed,  as  it  snaps  in 
the  fire  like  the  wood  of  the  chestnut, 

In  the  southwestern  States,  the  dried  leaves  are  much  used  as 
an  ingredient  in  soups,  for  which  they  are  well  adapted  by  the 
abundance  of  mucilage  they  contain.  For  this  purpose,  the 
mature  green  leaves  are  dried  and  powdered,  the  stringy  por- 
tions being  separated,  and  are  sifted  and  preserved  for  use. 
This  preparation,  mixed  with  soups,  gives  them  a  ropy  consist- 
ence, and  a  peculiar  flavor,  much  relished  by  those  accustomed 
to  it.  To  such  soups  are  given  the  names  gombo  jili  and 
gombo  zab. 

In  Virginia,  and  the  more  southern  States,  a  beer,  considered 
a  healthy  drink  for  the   spring  and  summer  seasons,  is  made  by 
42 


322        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

boiling  the  young  shoots  in  water,  adding  molasses,  and  fer- 
menting. The  taste  of  the  leaves  is  mucilaginous  and  pleas- 
.  ant ;   of  the  fruit,  disagreeably  spicy. 

For  its  medicinal  properties,  the  sassafras  has  long  been  cele- 
brated. On  this  account,  it  was  much  sought  for  by  the  earliest 
visitors  to  America ;  and  its  roots  formed  a  part  of  the  first 
cargo  exported  from  Massachusetts.*  At  that  time,  it  "  com- 
manded an  extravagant  price,  and  treatises  were  written  to 
celebrate  its  virtues."  The  following  account  is  from  Dr.  Big- 
elow's  Medical  Botany,  II,  p.  144 : — 

"The  bark  of  this  tree  has  a  fragrant  smell  and  a  very 
agreeable  spicy  taste.  The  flavor  of  the  root  is  most  power- 
ful, that  of  the  branches  more  pleasant.  The  flavor  and  odor 
reside  in  a  volatile  oil,  which  is  readily  obtained  from  the  bark 
by  distillation.  It  is  of  a  light  color,  becoming  darker  by  age, 
very  pungent,  and  heavier  than  water,  so  that  it  sinks  in  that 
fluid  when  the  drops  are  sufficiently  large  to  overcome  the  re- 
pulsion at  the  surface.  The  bark  and  pith  of  the  young  twigs 
abound  with  a  pure  and  delicate  mucilage.  A  very  small  quan- 
tity of  the  pith  infused  in  a  glass  of  water  gives  to  the  whole  a 
ropy  consistence,  like  the  white  of  an  egg.  This  mucilage  has 
the  uncommon  quality  that  it  is  not  precipitated,  coagulated,  or 
rendered  turbid  by  alcohol.  It  continues  in  a  perfectly  trans- 
parent state  when  mixed  with  that  fluid,  though  it  does  not 
unite  with  it.  When  evaporated  to  dryness,  it  leaves  a  light- 
colored,  gum- like  residuum. 

"  The  volatile  oil  and  the  mucilage  appear  to  contain  all  the 
medicinal  virtue  of  the  tree. 

"The  bark  and  wood  of  the  sassafras  were  formerly  much 
celebrated  in  the  cure  of  various  complaints;  it  is  now  recog- 
nized only  with  regard  to  its  general  properties,  which  are  those 
of  a  warm  stimulant  and  diaphoretic." 

A  decoction  of  the  bark  is  said  to  communicate  to  wool  a 
durable  orange  color. 

The  sassafras  is  found  as  far  north  as  Canada.  It  is  there, 
however,  a  small  tree,  not  often  exceeding  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  in  height.     In  the  Middle  States,  it  is  found  forty  or  fifty 

*  Gosnold,  in  Belknap's  American  Biography,  I,  238. 


XII.     1.  THE  SASSAFRAS  TREE.  323 

feet  high,  and  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  in  the  Southern  and 
Western  States,  is  said  to  attain  a  still  loftier  stature.  "  From 
Boston  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  from  the  shores  of 
the  ocean  in  Virginia  to  the  remotest  wilds  of  Upper  Louisiana 
beyond  the  Missouri,  comprising  an  extent  in  each  direction  of 
more  than  one  thousand  eight  hundred  miles,  the  sassafras  is 
sufficiently  multiplied  to  be  ranked  among  the  most  common 
trees." — Mlchaux,  II,  145. 

It  is  found  in  almost  every  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  seems 
to  flourish  in  almost  every  kind  of  soil.  In  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 
ton, in  soil  resting  upon  crumbled  grauwacke,  it  attains  larger 
dimensions  of  diameter  and  height,  than  I  have  elsewhere  ob- 
served it.  It  is  nowhere  found  very  abundantly,  but  is  usually 
allowed  to  remain,  out  of  regard  for  its  medicinal  properties, 
and  the  beauty  of  its  foliage  and  fruit,  about  fences,  and  on 
the  borders  of  fields,  where  it  is  most  frequently  seen.  This 
tree  has  the  credit  of  having  aided  in  the  discovery  of  America, 
as  it  is  said  to  have  been  its  strong  fragrance,  smelt  by  Colum- 
bus, which  encouraged  him  to  persevere,  and  enabled  him  to 
convince  his  mutinous  crew  that  land  was  near. 

The  sassafras  never  grows  to  the  size  of  a  tree  of  the  first 
class.  One  was  growing  in  1842,  in  West  Cambridge,  which 
measured  more  than  three  feet  through  at  the  base,  and  rose, 
without  a  limb,  more  than  thirty  feet,  with  a  trunk  very  straight 
and  slightly  diminished,  above  which  it  had  a  somewhat  lofty 
and  broad  head.  It  was  nearly  sixty  feet  high,  and  had  been 
long  growing  by  itself.  It  was  felled  and  its  roots  dug  up,  to 
allow  a  stone  ivall  to  run  in  a  right  line.  Such  pieces  of  barbar- 
ism are  still  but  too  common.  A  tree  so  beautiful  and  lofty, 
and  of  such  rare  dimensions,  such  an  ornament  to  a  bare  hill- 
side, sacrificed  to  the  straightness  of  a  wall  ! 

The  sassafras  has  been  much  cultivated  in  England  as  an 
ornamental  tree.  It  is  usually  propagated  by  seeds  imported 
from  this  country.  These,  as  soon  as  received,  are  sown  or  put 
in  a  rot-heap,  as  they  sometimes  remain  two  or  three  years  in 
the  ground  before  they  come  up.  It  may  be  also  propagated  by 
suckers  which  spring  up  in  great  numbers  from  the  long  creep- 
ing roots  of  old  trees. 

Several  other  species  of  sassafras  are  found  in  this  country. 


324       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


XII.     2.     FEVER  BUSH.     SPICE  BUSH.     BENZOIN 
ODORI'FERUM.     Nees  Von  Esenbeck. 

The  spice  bush  is  a  shrub,  from  four  to  ten  feet  high,  with 
long,  tapering,  brittle  branches.  The  recent  shoots  are  smooth, 
and  of  a  bright  green,  which,  in  the  next  year,  takes  an  olive 
tint,  and  afterwards  a  pearly  gray,  which  becomes  darker  on 
the  older  stalks.  The  leaves  are  from  two  to  five  inches  long, 
and  one  or  two  wide,  scattered,  very  entire,  broad  lanceolate  or 
obovate,  sometimes  almost  rhomboidal,  tapering  at  base,  ab- 
ruptly pointed,  sometimes  obtuse,  smooth  and  of  a  pleasant 
soft  green  above,  pale  or  glaucous  beneath ;  revolute  and  deli- 
cately ciliate  on  the  margin ;  supported  on  leaf-stalks  about 
half  an  inch  long,  smooth  or  rarely  downy.  In  April,  or  the 
early  part  of  May,  clusters  of  from  three  to  six  flowers,  of  a 
greenish  yellow,  on  very  short  pedicels,  appear  from  buds 
distinct  from  the  leaf-buds,  in  the  axils  of  the  last  year's  leaves. 
What  seem  to  be  petals,  are  a  calyx  of  six  oblong,  obtuse  seg- 
ments. The  stamens  are  somewhat  shorter,  nine  in  number,  in 
two  rows,  six  exterior,  and  three  interior,  alternating  with  sta- 
men-like bodies;  the  filaments  of  the  inner  series  trifid,  with 
the  lateral  segments  short  and  terminating  in  two-lobed  glands. 
Anthers  two-celled,  cells  opening  by  vertical  elastic  valves. 
Ovary  roundish,  surmounted  by  a  short  thickish  style.  Fruit  a 
dark  red  or  purple  drupe,  of  an  oval  shape,  in  bunches  of  from 
two  to  five,  by  the  side  of  the  base  of  the  short  leaf-branches, 
which  are  sometimes  abortive.  The  stem  is  short  and  stout, 
not  so  long  as  the  fruit.  While  green,  the  drupe  has  the  black 
style  in  a  terminal  hollow. 

This  plant  is  remarkable  for  its  graceful  form,  and  large,  hand- 
some leaves,  particularly  when  found  growing  in  the  deep  shade 
of  a  moist  forest.  Such  a  situation,  where  it  seems  most  vig- 
orous, is  not  favorable  to  the  production  of  its  flowers  and  fruit. 

This  plant  derives  its  botanical  name  from  its  aromatic  odor, 
resembling  gum  benzoin.  This  is  to  some  persons  always  dis- 
agreeable, and  when  the  leaves  are  bruised,  oppressively  strong. 
The  bark  is  stimulant  and  tonic,  and  has  been  used  in  inter- 
mittent fevers.     The  berries  are  said  to  have  been  sometimes 


XIII.  THE  LEATHER  WOOD.  325 

used  in  place  of  allspice.  In  Pennsylvania,  a  decoction  of  the 
branches  is  often  used  as  a  medicinal  drink  for  horned  cattle  in 
the  spring  of  the  year. — Darlington. 

Two  or  more  species  of  Benzoin  are  found  in  the  Southern 
States.  Nuttall  proposed,  while  the  Sassafras  and  Benzoin  were 
still  united  with  Laurus,  to  separate  them  from  the  other  spe- 
cies, and  unite  them  in  one  genus  Euosmus. 


FAMILY   XIII.      THE   MEZEREUM    FAMILY.      THYMELA'CEM. 

LlNDLEY. 

This  contains  shrubby  plants  wanting  a  corolla,  but  hav- 
ing a  corolla-like,  colored  calyx,  and  a  very  tough  bark.  The 
calyx  is  tubular,  with  its  border  usually  four-cleft,  and  with 
four  or  eight  stamens,  growing  from  its  tube.  Most  of  the 
plants  belong  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Australia  ;  many 
are  found  in  the  cooler  parts  of  India  and  South  America ;  a 
few  in  Europe  and  Middle  Asia;  a  single  genus  is  found  in 
North  America. 

The  plants  of  this  family  are  distinguished  for  an  acrid  or 
caustic  principle  in  the  bark.  When  chewed,  it  produces  a  burn- 
ing sensation  in  the  mouth,  and,  taken  into  the  stomach,  causes 
heat  and  vomiting,  or  purging.  Applied  externally,  it  slowly 
produces  a  blister.  The  bark  is  made  up  of  interlaced  fibres  of 
great  strength,  from  which  cordage  has  been  made.  A  sort  of 
natural  lace  is  formed  of  it,  in  the  Lagetta,  or  Lace  Bark  of 
Jamaica.  In  Nepaul,  paper  has  been  manufactured  from  it. 
A  yellow  dye  for  wool  is  formed  from  two  plants  of  this  family, 
in  the  south  of  Europe. 

THE  LEATHER  WOOD.     DIRCA  PALU'STRIS.     L. 

Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  Plate  38. 

This  is  a  much  branched  shrub,  from  three  to  five  or  six  feet 
in  height.  The  tough,  flexible,  dichotomous  branches  which 
come  from  the  bottom  of  the  stem,  have  a  horizontal  tendency, 


326        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

making  the  plant  look  lower  than  it  is  ;  they  have  a  jointed 
appearance,  each  joint  enlarging  upwards,  and  seeming  to  have 
been  drawn  out  from  the  one  below  it.  Bark  grayish  yellow, 
very  tough.  On  the  last  year's  shoots,  it  is  of  a  greenish  or  yel- 
lowish bronze,  with  a  pearly  lustre.  Leaves  alternate,  two  or 
three  inches  long,  and  half  as  wide,  oval  or  obovate,  entire, 
tapering  at  each  extremity,  green  and  smooth  above,  pale  or 
whitish  and  rather  downy  beneath,  on  short  stalks.  The 
flowers  appear  in  April  or  May,  and  fall  before  the  leaves  ex- 
pand. "  Previously  to  their  emerging,  they  exist  in  miniature 
within  a  small  hairy  bud,  which  occupies  a  sheath  or  cavity  in 
the  end  of  each  flowering  branch."*  There  are  usually  three 
from  each  bud,  with  their  short  footstalks  cohering.  They  are 
half  an  inch  long,  of  a  pale  or  greenish  white  or  yellowish 
color,  pendent,  lateral,  from  the  midst  of  the  young  unexpanded 
leaves.  The  corolla-like  calyx  is  monosepalous,  tubular,  trum- 
pet-shaped, or  bell-shaped,  contracted  at  base,  and  in  the  middle, 
enlarging  upwards,  and  ending  in  an  irregularly  and  slightly 
toothed  border.  Stamens  eight,  alternately  longer,  conspicu- 
ously terminated  by  ovoid  anthers,  projecting,  on  slender  fila- 
ments, which  proceed  from  the  lower  part  of  the  tube.  Style 
curved,  somewhat  longer  than  the  stamens,  proceeding  from  the 
side  of  a  roundish  ovary.  Berry  small,  oval,  containing  one, 
compressed,  ovate  seed. 

This  plant  grows  in  wet,  marshy  and  shady  places  from 
Canada  to  Georgia.  It  is  conspicuous,  when  in  flower,  for  the 
number  of  its  yellow  blossoms,  which  fade  and  fall  rapidly  as 
the  leaves  expand. 

The  peculiar  properties  of  the  family  are  remarkable  in  this 
plant.  The  fresh  bark  produces  a  sensation  of  heat  in  the 
stomach,  and  at  last  brings  on  vomiting.  The  wood  is  very 
pliable,  and  the  bark  of  singular  tenacity  and  toughness.  It 
has  such  strength  that  a  man  cannot  pull  apart  so  much  as 
covers  a  branch  of  half  or  a  third  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  It  is 
used  by  millers  and  others  for  thongs.  The  aborigines  used  it 
as  cordage. 

*  Bigelow. 


XIV.  THE  PLYMOUTH  CROWBERRY.  327 


FAMILY  XIV.    THE  CROWBERRY   FAMILY.    EMPETRA'CEJE. 

NUTTALL. 

This  forms  a  small  group  of  heath-like  plants,  natives  of  the 
northern  temperate  zone  and  the  southern  extremity  of  South 
America.  It  consists  of  low  under-shrubs,  with  simple,  entire, 
coriaceous  leaves,  scattered  or  verticillate,  often  revolute,  without 
stipules.  Flowers  in  the  axils  of  the  upper  leaves,  sterile,  fertile, 
and  perfect,  on  different  or  on  the  same  plants,  with  a  calyx 
of  persistent,  imbricated  scales ;  stamens  equal  in  number  and 
alternate  with  the  sepals  ;  anthers  two-celled,  the  cells  distinct, 
bursting  longitudinally.  Ovary  three  to  nine-celled ;  ovules 
solitary,  ascending ;  stigma  radiating,  the  number  of  its  rays 
equal  to  that  of  the  cells.  Fruit  fleshy,  globular,  three  to  nine- 
celled,  three  to  nine-seeded. 

This  family  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Nuttall,  to  contain  the 
Empetrum  and  Ceratlola.  It  includes  only  these  and  Corema, 
and  the  genus  found  in  this  State,  Oakesia.  Mr.  Nuttall  point- 
ed out  its  distant  affinity  to  Taxus  among  the  Coniferae.  The 
resemblance  to  the  Heaths  in  appearance  and  habit  is  striking. 

Little  is  known  of  the  properties  of  this  family.  Linnaeus 
informs  us  that  the  fruit  of  Empetrum  nigrum,  of  the  north  of 
Europe,  is  eaten  by  many  animals,  and  even  by  man. 

Of  this  family,  I  believe  there  is  but  one  plant  known  in 
Massachusetts.     It  is  the — 

OAKESIA.     Tuckerman. 
Of  which  there  is  one  species, 

The  Plymouth   Crowberry.      Oakesia  Conradi.     Tuckerman. 

First  noticed  by  Mr.  Conrad  among  the  pine  barrens  of  New 
Jersey,  and  called  after  that  gentleman  by  Dr.  Torrey ;  sepa- 
rated from  Empetrum,  and  called  Tuckermania,  by  Dr.  Klotzch, 
in  honor  of  Mr.  Edward  Tuckerman,  but  named  by  the  latter 
Oakesia,  in  honor  of  William  Oakes,  Esq. 


328        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

It  clothes  one  open,  sunny  hill  of  some  acres,  in  Plymouth, 
with  a  low,  brown,  uniform  dress,  strongly  reminding  one  of 
the  description  of  the  heaths  of  Europe.  In  the  end  of  March, 
or  the  beginning  of  April,  the  numerous  purple,  terminal  blos- 
soms, give  to  this  spot  an  air  of  gaiety,  in  striking  contrast  with 
the  sere  and  melancholy  waste  every  where  around,  when  little 
else,  except  the  beautiful  and  fragrant  May-flower,  Epiga^a, 
gives  evidence  of  the  approach  of  spring.  The  lovers  of  nature 
in  this  town  of  the  Pilgrims,  have  the  pleasure  of  announcing 
the  agreeable  news,  by  presents  of  the  Oakesia  and  the  Epigce^a 
to  their  friends  at  a  distance.  A  favor  of  this  kind,  from  my 
friend  Mr.  Gilbert,  gives  me  the  opportunity  of  describing  this 
plant. 

It  rises  a  foot  or  two  from  the  ground,  forming  large,  crowded 
tufts.  The  stem  is  small  and  round,  of  a  reddish  color,  with 
an  ashy  bark.  The  short  branches  are  in  imperfect  whorls 
or  stages ;  their  ends  are  covered  with  the  thickly  set  leaves, 
closely  scattered  or  in  whorls  of  three.  Leaves  very  short, 
needle-like,  so  completely  revolute  at  the  edge,  as  to  form  almost 
a  cylinder.  Male  flowers  in  terminal  bunches  of  ten  to  fifteen, 
consisting  of  three  to  six,  brown,  membranaceous  scales,  enclos- 
ing three  stamens.  Filaments  long  threads,  supporting  on 
their  summit  a  bi-lobed  anther,  free  at  each  extremity,  and 
opening  longitudinally  on  the  external  sides. 

The  plants  bearing  the  female  blossoms  have  leaves  of  a 
lighter  green.  These  flowers  also  are  terminal  in  clusters  of 
about  twelve.  Each  flower  consists  of  one  ovary  surmounted 
by  a  trifid  style,  encircled  by  three  delicate  equal  scales,  in  the 
axis  of  one  which  is  ovate,  ciliated  at  the  margin  and  acumi- 
nate. Some  plants  are  found  bearing  perfect  flowers.  The 
stamens  and  pistils  are  purple,  the  encircling  scales  brownish. 


XV.  THE  OLIVE  FAMILY.  329 


CHAPTER  IV. 


MONOPETALOUS     PLANTS. 


FAMILY  XV.     THE  OLIVE  FAMILY.     OLEA'CEJE. 

The  Olive,  the  Lilac,  the  Ash  and  the  Privet,  with  some  other 
less  known  but  hardly  less  dissimilar  shrubs  and  trees,  form 
this  family.  It  is  apparently  made  up  of  discordant  mate- 
rials, bnt  their  analogy  in  nature  is  proved,  not  only  by  their 
distinctive  characters,  but  by  the  fact,  that  all  the  species  are 
capable  of  being  successfully  grafted  on  each  other.  The  Lilac 
will  graft  upon  the  Ash  and  the  Fringe  tree,  and  the  Olive  will 
take  on  the  Philly'rea  and  even  on  the  Ash  itself. — (Z>  C,  Prop. 
Med.,  206.)     The  essential  character  is  as  follows. 

The  plants  belonging  to  it  are  trees  or  shrubs  with  opposite 
branches,  four-cornered  or  compressed  branchlets,  opposite,  en- 
tire, simple  or  pinnate  leaves,  without  stipules.  The  flowers,  in 
terminal  or  axillary  racemes  or  panicles,  perfect,  or  sometimes 
wanting  stamens  or  pistil;  with  a  persistent  calyx  of  four  parts 
or  divisions;  a  corolla  of  four  petals,  sometimes  distinct,  some- 
times united,  rarely  altogether  wanting;  two  stamens,  (some- 
times more,)  and  a  two-celled  ovary  with  a  very  short  style. 
The  fruit  is  various ;  frequently  it  is  a  one-celled,  one-seeded 
drupe,  as  in  the  olive  ;  sometimes  a  capsule  with  two  valves ; 
sometimes  a  winged  capsule  or  key,  as  in  the  ash.  The  plants 
of  this  family,  chiefly  natives  of  temperate  climates,  present 
various  claims  to  the  consideration  of  man ;  some  of  them  pro- 
duce durable  and  elastic  wood  ;  others,  fruits  full  of  a  valuable 
oil,  or  important  as  articles  of  food  ;  some  of  them,  fragrant  and 
showy  flowers;  others,  medicinal  juices. 

The  bark  and  leaves  of  the  greater  part  are  bitter  and  astrin- 
gent ;  the  bark  of  the  ash,  especially,  possesses  these  properties 
to  such  a  degree,  that  it  has  been  successfully  employed  as  a 
substitute  for  Peruvian  bark  in  the  treatment  of  fever.  From 
43 


330        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  bark  of  some  species  of  the  flowering  ash,  exudes  the  mild 
and  useful  purgative  known  by  the  name  of  manna.  The  olive 
is  one  of  a  very  few  plants  which  yield  oil  from  the  fleshy  part 
of  their  fruit,  it  being  almost  universally  confined  to  the  kernel 
or  seed.  The  sap  of  the  ash  has  some  resemblance  to  that  of 
the  maple. 

The  family  is  divided  into  three  sections,  each  of  which  has 
a  representative,  indigenous  or  introduced,  in  our  forests  or  gar- 
dens : — 

1.  The  Olive  Tribe, — whose  fruit  is  a  drupe  or  berry,  com- 
•  prehending,  with  the  Olive,  the  Privet,  the  Philly'rea,  and  the 

Fringe  Tree,  or  Snow  Flower ; 

2.  The  Lilac  Tribe, — fruit  a  capsule ;  containing  the  Lilac 
and  the  Fontanesia ; 

3.  The  Ash  Tribe, — fruit  a  key ;  the  Ash  and  the  Ornus,  or 
Flowering  Ash. 

1.     THE  OLIVE  TRIBE.     OLEI'NEJE. 
The  only  genus  which  has  become  naturalized,  is 

XV.     1.     THE  PRIVET.     LIGU' STRUM.     Tournefort. 

This  genus  contains  a  very  few  shrubs  or  low  trees,  indige- 
nous to  the  temperate  regions  of  Europe  and  Central  Asia,  with 
opposite,  entire,  smooth  leaves,  and  flowers  in  terminal  panicles. 
The  calyx  is  short  and  four-toothed  ;  the  corolla  has  a  short 
tube,  longer  than  the  calyx,  with  its  border  fonr-lobed.  Sta- 
mens two,  with  short  filaments  attached  to  the  tube  of  the 
corolla.  The  ovary  is  two-celled,  with  two  ovules  in  each  cell, 
and  surmounted  by  a  very  short  style  bearing  a  two-cleft  stig- 
ma. The  berry  is  two-celled  with  one  or  two  seeds  in  each 
cell. 

The  Common  Privet  or  Prim.     L.  vulgarc.     L. 

A  hardy  shrub,  with  numerous  opposite  branches,  growing  to 
the.  height  of  six  or  eight  feet.  It  grows  in  clumps,  from  strong, 
matted,  bright  yellow  roots.     The  bark  on  the  trunk  is  of  a  dark 


XV.     1.      THE  COMMON  PRIVET  OR  PRIM.  331 

pearly  ash  color.  The  branches  are  grayish,  recent  shoots 
greenish  gray,  smooth,  or  with  a  delicate,  silken  pubescence. 
The  leaves  are  small,  on  very  short  stalks,  crowded  in  tufts  or 
opposite  on  the  growing  shoots,  lance-shaped,  acute  at  both 
ends,  entire,  pale  green  and  smooth  on  both  surfaces. 

Flowers  white,  in  short  terminal  panicles  made  up  of  opposite 
short  branchlets,  with  a  slender  bract  at  base  of  each,  on  which 
the  flowers  are  in  opposite  pairs.  Footstalk  very  short,  white, 
with  a  minute  white  bract  beneath ;  calyx  short,  ending  in  four 
very  obtuse  teeth;  corolla  a  short  tube,  with  four  oblong,  ex- 
panded, pointed  segments.  Stamens  two,  short,  growing  to  the 
inside  of  the  tube;  anthers  large,  sulphur-colored,  soon  turn- 
ing brown  ;  pollen  sulphur-colored,  fragrant.  The  berries  are 
of  a  shining  black.  In  the  south  of  England,  the  privet  is 
evergreen.  Here,  the  leaves  fall,  but  later  than  those  of  most 
other  plants.  It  is  not  a  native,  but  was  introduced  from  Eu- 
rope, and  has  spread  extensively  in  the  eastern  part  of  this 
State. 

The  leaves  and  bark  are  bitter  and  astringent.  In  Belgium, 
and  some  other  parts  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  small  twigs, 
clipped  in  June,  dried  and  powdered,  are  used  in  tanning  leath- 
er. From  the  berries  a  rose-color  is  obtained  for  tinting  maps  ; 
and  their  juice,  with  the  addition  of  alum,  is  used  to  dye  wool 
or  silk  green.  An  agreeable  oil  for  culinary  purposes  and  for 
lamps,  or  making  soap,  is  obtained  from  the  berries,  by  a  pro- 
cess of  grinding  and  pressure.  In  France  and  Great  Britain, 
the  privet  is  much  used  as  a  hedge  plant,  either  alone  or  with 
other  plants.  Its  use  for  this  purpose  is  recommended  by  the 
beauty  of  the  foliage,  the  flowers  and  the  berries,  by  its  rapid 
and  easy  growth,  and  by  the  fact  that  it  grows  well  under  the 
drip  of  other  trees,  except  evergreens.  It  flourishes  on  almost 
any  soil,  as  may  be  easily  seen,  from  the  variety  of  ground  on 
which  it  has  sown  itself,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  and  it  is 
propagated  by  seed  or  by  cuttings,  and  requires  very  little 
pruning. 

The  privet  of  Nepaul,  which,  in  its  native  climate,  is  a  tree, 
but,  as  cultivated  in  Europe,  a  shrub,  is  the  only  other  species 
known. 


332       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Several  species  of  P  hilly' rea,  and  the  Virginian  Fringe  tree, 
Chionanllius  Vi?-ginica,  are  cultivated  in  our  gardens  for  their 
beauty  as  ornamental  shrubs. 

The  representative  of 

2.     THE  LILAC  TRIBE, 

THE  LILAC,  SYRPNGA   VULGARIS, 

"  Various  in  array,  now  white, 
Now  sanguine,  and  her  beauteous  head  now  set 
With  purple  spikes  pyramidal," 

was  one  of  the  first  plants  introduced  by  our  forefathers,  and  it 
is  universally  found:  often,  in  the  front  of  ancient  houses,  grow- 
ing almost  to  the  size  of  a  tree.  The  more  delicate  Persian  lilac, 
&  Persica,  is  getting  gradually  into  favor. 

3.     THE  ASH  TRIBE.     FRAXI'NEJE.     Bartling. 

Distinguished  by  having  its  fruit  a  single  samara  or  key,  con- 
tains the  genera  Fraxinus  and  Ornus. 

XV.     2.     THE  ASH.     FRA'XINUS.     Tournefort. 

The  ashes  are  lofty  trees,  with  deciduous,  compound,  une- 
qually pinnate,  articulated  leaves,  axillary  and  terminal  scaly 
and  downy  buds,  and  flowers  in  lateral,  crowded  panicles,  ris- 
ing from  the  axis  of  the  last  year's  leaves.  They  are  found 
abundantly  in  North  America,  in  smaller  numbers  in  Europe 
and  Central  Asia,  rarely  in  Eastern  Asia. 

The  flowers  are  perfect,  or  wanting  stamens  or  pistils,  on  dis- 
tinct plants  or  on  the  same  plant :  usually  the  two  sexes  are 
found  on  different  trees.  The  calyx  and  corolla  are  four-parted 
or  wanting.  Stamens  two.  Ovary  free,  two-celled.  The  fruit 
is  a  one-seeded  samara  or  key,  cylindrical  at  base,  compressed 
above,  and  ending  in  a  long,  membranous  wing.  The  ashes 
are  usually  without  a  corolla.  From  this  circumstance,  the 
family  is  properly  placed  next  those  which  have  never  a  co- 
rolla. 

The  ashes  yield  to  the  oaks  alone  in  the  number  and  import- 
ance of  their  uses.     The  timber  of  no  other  tree  of  Europe  or 


XV.    2.  THE  WHITE  ASH.  333 

of  the  United  States,  equals  ashen  timber  in  elasticity;  and  its 
hardness  and  strengih,  and  other  valuable  properties,  are  so 
considerable,  that  of  our  species  as  of  that  of  England,  might 
be  pronounced  the  eulogium  of  Spencer : — 

"  The  ash  for  nothing  ill." 

"It  serves  the  soldier,"  as  Evelyn  says,  (pp.  156-7,)  "and 
heretofore  the  scholar,  who  made  use  of  the  inner  bark  to  write 
on,  before  the  invention  of  paper.  The  carpenter,  wheelwright 
and  cartwright  find  it  excellent  for  ploughs,  axle-trees,  wheel- 
rings,  harrows,  bulls;  it  makes  good  oars,  blocks  for  pullies  and 
shefls,  (shieves,)  as  seamen  name  them.  For  drying  herrings, 
no  wood  is  like  it,  and  the  bark  is  good  for  the  tanning  of  nets  ; 
and  like  the  elm,  for  the  same  property,  (of  not  being  so  apt  to 
split  and  scale,)  is  excellent  for  tenons  and  mortices  ;  also  for 
the  cooper,  turner,  and  thatcher;  nothing  is  like  it  for  our  garden 
palisade-hedges,  hop-yards,  poles  and  spars,  handles  and  stocks 
for  tools,  spade-trees,  &c.  In  sum,  the  husbandman  cannot  be 
without  the  ash  for  his  carts,  ladders,  and  other  tackling,  from 
the  pike  to  the  plough,  spear  and  bow ;  for  of  ash  were  they 
formerly  made,  and  therefore  reckoned  amongst  those  woods 
which,  after  long  tension,  has  a  natural  spring,  and  recovers 
its  position;  so  as  in  peace  and  war  it  is  a  wood  in  highest 
request.  In  short,  so  useful  and  profitable  is  this  tree,  next  to 
the  oak,  that  every  prudent  lord  of  a  manor  should  employ  one 
acre  of  ground  with  ash  to  every  twenty  acres  of  other  land, 
since  in  as  many  years  it  would  be  more  worth  than  the  land 
itself." 

There  are  three  species  of  ash  growing  in  Massachusetts. — 
the  White,  the  Red,  and  the  Black.  The  Yellow  is  found  in 
Maine,  and  may,  perhaps,  belong  to  this  State. 

Sp.  1.     The  White  Ash.     F.  acuminata.     Lamarck. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  III,  Plate  118. 

The  white  ash  is  a  graceful  tree,  rising,  in  the  forest,  to  the 
height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet,  with  a  straight  trunk  and  a 
diameter  of  three  feet  or  more  at  the  base.     On  an  open  plain, 


334        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

it  throws  out  its  branches  with  a  gentle,  double  curvature,  to  a 
distance  on  every  side,  and  forms  a  broad,  round  head,  of  great 
beauty.  The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  whitish  bark,  which,  in 
very  young  trees,  is  nearly  smooth  ;  on  older  trees,  it  is  broken 
by  deep  furrows  crossing  each  other  obliquely,  into  irregular, 
square,  or  lozenge-shaped  plates,  and  on  very  old  stems  becomes 
smooth  again  from  the  rough  plates  scaling  off.  The  bark  of 
the  branches  is  smooth,  of  a  grayish  green,  indistinctly  dotted 
with  gray:  while,  on  the  somewhat  stout  young  shoots,  it  is  of 
a  smooth,  polished,  deep  green,  with  long  white  dots. 

The  leaves  are  opposite,  compound,  twelve  or  fifteen  inches 
long,  the  stalks  much  swollen  at  base  and  at  the  joints,  round, 
smooth,  and  tapering.  The  leaflets  are  usually  seven,  (five  to 
nine,)  from  three  to  five  inches  long  and  one  or  two  broad,  on 
compressed  petioles,  channelled  above,  four  or  five  lines  long. 
They  vary  in  form  from  egg-shaped  to  lance-shaped,  elliptic, 
oblong  and  inversely  egg-shaped,  tapering  to  a  long  point,  rather 
acute  at  base,  entire  or  slightly  dentate,  or  serrate,  smooth  above, 
very  pale  or  glaucous,  and  somewhat  hairy  along  the  veins  be- 
neath. The  odd  leaflet  is  on  a  long  stalk.  The  young  leaves 
are  very  downy,  but  become  almost  perfectly  smooth.  The 
buds  are  short  and  rust-colored,  smooth;  terminal  buds  large. 

The  flowers  are  in  opposite  fascicles  or  bunches,  near  the  ends 
of  the  branches,  in  the  axils  of  the  last  year's  leaves.  The 
fertile  flowers  are  on  a  smooth,  branched,  tapering,  purplish 
rachis,  with  opposite  branches,  each  branch  terminating  in  a 
flower.  Calyx  deeply  two-parted,  the  parts  divided  slightly. 
Ovary  flattened,  elliptic;  style  tapering;  stigma  bifid.  The 
footstalks  have  two  opposite  scales,  like  bud-scales,  near  the 
base,  and  beneath  each  ramification.  In  the  fertile  flowers,  the 
two  sterile  stamens,  when  present,  are  opposite,  at  the  base  of 
the  ovary.  The  staminate  are  in  close,  dense,  much-branched 
fascicles.  At  the  end  of  each  very  short  branch,  in  a  flat  cup 
with  four  teeth,  are  two  sessile  or  nearly  sessile  brown  stamens, 
parallel  and  one  eighth  of  an  inch  long.  The  keys  or  samarse 
are  on  angular,  tapering,  diverging  stalks,  dividing  by  threes, 
and  from  five  to  seven  inches  long.  The  keys  are  one  and  a 
half  inches  long,  cylindrical  at  the  base,  which  is  surrounded 


XV.    2.  THE  WHITE  ASH.  335 

by  the  minute,  jagged  calyx,  and  expanding  upwards  into  a 
flattened  wing,  two  or  three  lines  broad,  rounded  or  rarely 
notched  at  the  extremity. 

The  flowers  appear  in  May,  before  the  opening  of  the  leaves, 
and  the  keys  are  mature  in  August  and  September,  about  which 
time  the  leaves  turn  to  an  olive  or  olive  purple.  The  keys 
often  remain  on  the  tree  through  the  winter. 

The  white  ash  is  found  in  every  part  of  the  State  and  on 
every  kind  of  ground,  but  flourishes  best  in  a  deep,  loamy  soil, 
near  the  banks  of  a  river  or  in  a  moist  meadow.  "By  the 
banks  of  sweet  and  crystal  rivers  and  streams,"  like  the  Eng- 
lish ash,  it  is  observed  to  thrive  infinitely.  It  is  sometimes  seen 
nestling  among  rocks,  where  it  can  hardly  get  foot-hold,  and  is 
frequent  on  the  steep  sides  of  the  Hoosic  mountains.  In  swamps, 
it  gives  place  to  the  black  ash.  In  the  old  forests,  in  the  narrow 
valleys  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  it  towers  to  a  great 
height.  Not  unfrequently,  it  may  be  found  one  hundred  feet 
high  and  more,  with  a  diameter  of  four  feet  and  upwards.  Six- 
teen years  ago,  an  ash  was  felled  in  Granville,  which  was  rived 
into  three  thousand  rake-stalks.  It  was  four  and  a  half  feet  in 
diameter,  and  had  a  shaft  of  seventy  feet  without  a  limb.  It 
grew  on  the  land  of  Zelotes  Robinson,  now  of  Blandford. 
Standing  by  itself,  the  ash  rarely  attains  a  great  height.  There 
is,  growing  at  the  corner  where  the  road  from  Hingham  Plain  to 
Cobasset  unites  with  that  from  the  Old  Colony  House,  an  an- 
cient tree,  which  measured,  in  July,  1839,  four  feet  two  inches 
through,  at  four  and  a  half  feet  from  the  gronnd,  and  four  feet 
eight  inches  just  below  the  branches.  At  seven  or  nine  feet 
from  the  surface,  ten  large  branches  go  off,  horizontally,  or  with 
a  slight  inclination  upwards,  forming  a  broad  space  above  them, 
on  which  seats  have  been  placed. 

The  ash  has  been  called  the  painters  tree.  It  is,  at  least, 
while  young,  remarkable  for  its  gracefulness,  for  the  light  and 
easy  sweep  of  its  branches,  and  for  the  softness  and  mellow 
green  of  its  foliage.  It  produces  a  fine  effect  in  contrast  with 
the  darker  woods,  and  should,  on  that  account,  always  have  a 
place,  were  it  the  object  to  exhibit  the  various  beauty  of  the 
forest  trees.     Its  leaf  comes  out  late,  and,  although  beautiful 


336       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

while  it  lasts,  and  turning  to  a  rich,  mellow,  olive  purple,  for 
some  time  before  it  falls,  it  falls  early.  It  should  not  often, 
therefore,  stand  alone,  in  a  conspicuous  place,  but  in  a  corner 
among  other  trees. 

The  wood  is  white,  and  remarkable  for  its  toughness  and 
elasticity.  For  these  qualities,  it  is  used  for  hoops,  for  handles 
of  pitch-forks  and  rakes,  and  for  the  shafts  and  springs  of  wag- 
ons and  other  carriages.  It  is  used  to  make  oars,  in  preference 
to  any  other  wood.  The  oars,  already  made,  are  brought  to 
Boston,  from  the  Penobscot  and  Kennebec  Rivers,  in  Maine. 
They  are  made  of  forest  ash,  which  is  considered  lighter  and 
more  springy  than  any  other.  It  is  also  used  for  ship's  blocks, 
for  which  purpose,  it  is  wrought  in  a  green  state,  as  it  is  then 
almost  as  soft  as  pine.  It  is  used  for  the  boxes  of  pumps,  almost 
exclusively.  White  ash,  from  Maine,  is  used,  for  its  superior 
softness,  for  the  bodies,  brackets,  sills  and  pillars  of  carriages; 
a  tougher  variety,  from  the  interior  or  from  the  west,  being  pre- 
ferred for  shafts,  springs  and  bars,  requiring  strength.  Lance- 
wood  alone,  as  more  elastic  and  strong  than  ash,  is  preferred 
for  carriage  shafts.  Ash  is  also  used  for  sofa  frames  and  chair 
frames,  for  backs  and  bottoms,  for  staves  for  inferior  casks  in- 
tended for  dry  articles,  and  for  bowls. 

The  leaves  and  branches  of  the  ash  are  said  to  be  so  offensive 
and  perhaps  poisonous  to  serpents,  that  they  will  not  come  nigh 
them.  The  leaf  is  also  said  to  give  relief  in  case  of  a  bite  from 
poisonous  serpents.  This  property  is  of  small  consequence  in 
New  England,  where  poisonous  serpents  are  few,  and  probably 
confined  to  the  single  species  of  the  common  rattlesnake.  A 
more  important  property  has  been  tested.  An  ash-leaf  rubbed 
upon  the  swellings  caused  by  mosquitoes,  removes  the  itching 
and  soreness  immediately.  The  same  effect  is  produced  on  the 
poison  occasioned  by  the  bite  of  the  bee.  A  decoction  of  the 
leaves  is  said  to  be  an  antidote  to  the  poison  of  lamb-kill,  Kalmia 
angustifolia,  when  taken  by  lambs. 


XV.     2.  THE  RED  ASH.  337 

Sp.  2.     The  Red  Ash.     F.  pubescens.     Walter. 
Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  III,  Plate  119. 

In  its  appearance,  the  red  ash  so  strongly  resembles  the  white, 
that  it  is  usually  confounded  with  it.  It  is  easily  distinguished, 
by  the  down  on  the  recent  branches  and  on  the  footstalks  and 
lower  surface  of  the  leaves.  The  distinction  is  important,  as 
the  wood  is  less  valuable  than  that  of  the  white.  It  is  found 
in  nearly  the  same  situations,  delighting  in  a  moist,  rich,  loamy 
soil,  where  it  grows  to  a  good  size,  though  never  to  so  great  a 
height  as  the  white  ash.  On  the  rich  intervale  land  on  the 
Connecticut  River  and  its  tributaries,  it  is  often  found  over 
three  feet  in  diameter,  and  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high.  A  few  rods 
south  of  the  great  Celtis,  in  Springfield,  I  measured  one  in  Sep- 
tember, 1840,  which  was  ten  feet  four  inches  in  circumference 
at  the  surface,  and  nine  feet  at  three  feet  above.  The  red  ash 
is  a  spreading,  broad-headed  tree,  and  rises  to  a  considerable 
height  only  in  the  forest.  The  trunk  is  erect  and  branching, 
covered  with  a  dark  ashy  or  granite  gray  bark,  with  numer- 
ous longitudinal,  superficial  furrows,  not  often  running  into 
each  other. 

The  branches  are  opposite,  grayish,  conspicuously  dotted,  the 
younger  ones  green,  or  olive  green  ;  and  the  recent  shoots,  with 
the  footstalks  and  under  surface  of  the  leaves,  clothed  with  a 
soft,  velvety,  grayish  or  rusty  down. 

The  last  year's  shoots  are  somewhat  downy  in  appearance, 
but  not  in  reality.  Near  their  extremity,  in  the  axils  of  the  last 
year's  leaves,  are  the  flower  branches.  They  are,  when  the 
fruit  is  mature,  three  or  four  inches  long,  single,  or  in  threes, 
dividing  by  nearly  opposite  divisions,  and  subdividing,  the  sub- 
divisions bearing  at  intervals  single  or  double  pairs  of  fruit  or 
keys,  on  short,  thread-like  stems.  The  keys  are  one  and  a  half 
or  two  inches  long,  and  two  or  three  lines  broad,  cylindrical 
below,  broader,  flat  and  thin  above,  rounded  and  with  some- 
times an  abrupt  point  at  the  extremity.  Closely  adhering  to  the 
base  is  the  slit  calyx,  ending  in  four  jagged  teeth. 

The  leaves  are  opposite,  ten  to  fifteen  inches  long,  consisting 
44 


338        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

of  three  or  four  pairs  of  leaflets  and  an  odd  one,  on  a  round 
footstalk,  which  is  channelled  above  and  swollen  at  the  base 
and  at  the  articulations  of  the  leaflets.  The  leaflets  are  three 
to  six  inches  long  and  one  to  one  and  a  half  wide,  on  very 
short,  compressed,  downy  footstalks,  generally  ovate-lance- 
shaped,  acute  or  rounded  at  base,  tapering  to  a  long  point, 
entire  or  obscurely  toothed  above,  entire  below,  the  upper  sur- 
face smooth  or  somewhat  hairy,  the  under  surface  paler  and 
somewhat  downy.  The  buds  are  rounded,  almost  concealed  by 
the  leaf-stalk,  downy  and  of  a  dark  rusty  brown.  In  autumn, 
the  leaves  become  russet.  The  fruit  remains  after  the  leaves 
have  fallen,  and,  on  the  male  trees,  as  is  common  on  the  other 
ashes,  are  unsightly  excrescences  from  the  sterile  blossoms. 

Sp.  3.     The  Black  Ash.     F.  sambucifolia.     Willdenow. 
Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  III,  Plate  122. 

The  black  ash  is  the  slenderest  deciduous  tree,  of  any  consid- 
erable magnitude,  to  be  found  in  the  forest,  often  attaining  the 
height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet  with  a  diameter  scarcely  over  a 
foot.  It  is  almost  confined  to  swamps  or  the  muddy  banks  of 
rivers,  where  the  ground  is  saturated  with  moisture  through 
the  greater  part  of  the  year.  In  such  situations,  it  often  throws 
up  its  arrowy  shaft  almost  without  a  limb,  until  its  top  reaches 
the  sunshine,  among  the  tall  hemlocks,  spruces,  hacmatacks, 
birches  and  maples.  Yet,  when  planted  on  an  open  plain, 
where  the  soil  is  rich  and  not  too  dry,  it  spreads  abroad  its 
limbs  and  forms  an  ample,  round  head.  It  is  easily  distin- 
guished from  the  other  ashes  by  its  sessile,  serrate  leaves,  and 
its  dark  blue  or  black  buds,  and  not  by  the  color  of  the  bark, 
in  which  there  is  not  a  striking  difference.  The  trunk  is  of  a 
dark  granite  gray,  the  bark  rough,  with  small,  superficial,  ver- 
tical rugosities,  which  appearance  continues  in  very  old  trees. 

The  young  shoots,  which  are  very  stout,  are  of  a  yellowish 
ashy  gray,  dotted  with  lighter  dots,  and  next  year  becoming 
of  a  clear  gray,  somewhat  darker  on  the  older  branches ;  on 
these,  the  dots  have  the  appearance  of  large  warts.  The  semi- 
circular leaf-scars  are  large  and  conspicuous  on  the  smaller 


XV.     2.  THE  BLACK  ASH.  339 

branches.  The  leaves,  which  come  out  late  and  fall  early,  are 
of  a  yellowish  green,  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  long,  opposite, 
compound,  with  two  to  five  pairs  of  leaflets,  usually  four  pairs, 
and  an  odd  one,  on  a  leafstalk,  which  is  large  at  the  base,  some- 
what flattened  below  the  leaflets,  and  flattened  or  channelled 
above  with  a  sharp-edged  channel.  The  lateral  leaflets  are 
sessile,  narrow,  ovate-lance-shaped  or  oblong,  rounded  at  base, 
gradually  tapering  to  a  long  point,  serrate,  smooth  but  impressed 
at  the  veins  above,  paler  and  hairy  along  the  lower  part  of  the 
mid-rib  beneath.  The  terminal  one  is  regularly  lance-shaped, 
on  a  short  footstalk.  The  buds  are  short  and  round,  terminat- 
•  ing  in  a  point,  and  of  a  deep  blue  or  black  color. 

The  flower  branches  are  opposite,  single  or  in  threes,  in  the 
axils  of  the  last  year's  leaves.  They  are  from  three  to  six 
inches  long,  dividing  irregularly,  and  not  much  branched.  The 
flowers  differ  from  those  of  the  other  ashes  in  the  absence  of  a 
calyx.  The  keys  are  a  little  more  than  an  inch  long,  elliptic, 
obtuse  or  slightly  notched  at  the  end,  which  is  sometimes  sur- 
mounted by  the  style,  compressed  and  winged  throughout. 
They  are  mature  in  September  or  October.  In  autumn,  the 
leaves  become  russet. 

The  wood  of  the  black  ash  is  remarkable  for  its  toughness. 
On  this  account,  it  was  preferred  to  every  other,  by  the  Indians, 
for  the  manufacture  of  baskets,  and  is  still  used  for  that  pur- 
pose in  preference  to  every  kind  of  wood,  except  that  of  the 
trunk  of  a  young  white  oak.  When  it  is  to  be  divided,  it  is 
beaten  with  mallets  until  the  fibres  are  somewhat  loosened,  and 
it  may  be  then  separated  into  thin,  uniform  ribbons  of  any  re- 
quired dimensions.  It  is  also  somewhat  used  and  was  formerly 
much  more  so,  for  chair-bottoms  and  grain-riddles,  and  for 
hoops.  Its  sap,  procured  by  exposing  a  green  branch  to  the 
fire,  is  a  popular  application  for  ear-ache. 

Of  the  other  ashes  that  would  flourish  in  our  climate,  the 
most  valuable,  doubtless,  is  the  common  European  Ash,  F.  ex- 
celsior. This  has  been  introduced  and  found  to  grow  as  readily 
and  as  vigorously  as  any  of  the  native  species.  It  is  considered, 
in  England,  as  among  the  noblest  and  most  beautiful  of  the 
forest  trees,  and  next  to  the  oak  in  the  value  of  its  timber.     In 


340        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  neighborhood  of  London,  the  plants,  at  two  years  from  the 
seed,  may  be  procured  at  3s.  per  1000  ;  transplanted  plants,  one 
foot  or  more  in  height,  at  10s.,  about  $2  25  per  1000.  Some 
of  the  many  varieties,  particularly  the  weeping  ash,  are  prized 
for  their  beauty. 

The  green  ash  may,  hereafter,  be  found  in  Massachusetts,  as 
it  occurs  in  Canada.  There  are  many  other  ash  trees,  probably 
thirty,  but  these  are  the  best. 


FAMILY  XVI.    THE  HOLLY   FAMILY.    AQUIFOLIACEJE. 

De  Candolle. 

This  consists  of  evergreen  or  deciduous  shrubs  or  trees,  with 
alternate  or  opposite  leaves,  which  are  often  smooth  and  coria- 
ceous, and  small,  solitary  or  fascicled  perfect  flowers,  or  flowers 
wanting  stamens  or  pistil,  growing  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves. 

The  calyx  and  corolla  are  imbricate  in  the  bud  before  open- 
ing. The  calyx  has  four  or  six  divisions.  The  corolla  four  to 
six  lobes,  united  at  their  base,  and  there  arc  as  many  stamens, 
inserted  into  it  and  alternate  with  its  lobes.  The  ovary  has 
two,  six,  or  eight  cells,  with  a  pendulous  ovule  in  each.  The 
fruit  is  fleshy,  and  opens  not  spontaneously,  with  from  two  to 
six  stones,  each  containing  a  pendulous  seed. 

The  plants  of  this  family  are  found  in  various  parts  of  the 
world  ;  three  genera  only  in  New  England.  Several  of  them 
have  valuable  properties.  The  bark  and  leaves  of  the  European 
holly  have  been  found  efficacious  in  intermittent  ferers.  The 
famous  Jesuits'  tea  of  Paraguay  is  made  of  the  leaves  of  an- 
other species  of  holly.  Five  millions  of  pounds  are  annually 
produced  in  that  country.  An  inferior  tea  is  made  from  another 
species  in  Brazil.  The  aborigines  of  the  Southern  States  made 
great  use  of  the  infusion  of  a  species  of  holly  as  a  purifier  of  the 
system,  and  of  that  made  from  another  plant  of  this  family  as 
an  agreeable  stimulant.  The  properties  of  a  species  of  winter 
berry  will  be  spoken  of  hereafter.  Many  of  the  species  are 
favorites  with  the  gardener,  for  their  brilliant,  evergreen  foliage. 


XVI.     1.  THE  AMERICAN  HOLLY.  341 


XVI.     1.     THE  HOLLY.     ILEX.     L. 

The  hollies  are  evergreen  shrubs  or  small  trees,  with  leaves 
usually  coriaceous,  and  often  bordered  with  thorny  teeth,  and 
white,  axillary  flowers,  commonly  perfect,  but  often  with  the 
fertile  and  sterile  on  different  plants.  They  are  distinguished 
by  their  four-celled  ovary,  with  four  sessile  stigmas,  and  their 
berry-like  drupe,  with  four,  one-seeded  nuts.  The  hollies  are 
found  in  North  and  tropical  America,  in  the  warmer  parts  of 
Asia,  and  a  single  species  in  central  and  northwestern  Europe. 
Their  wood  is  remarkable  for  its  hardness,  whiteness,  and  close- 
ness of  grain,  and  for  its  susceptibility  of  receiving  color  and 
polish.     There  are  about  forty  species  in  the  genus. 

The  American  Holly.     I.  opaca.     Aiton. 
Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  84. 

The  American  holly  is  a  handsome,  low  tree,  with  nearly 
horizontal  branches,  and  thorny,  evergreen  leaves.  The  erect 
trunk  is  clothed  with  a  smooth  bark,  of  an  ashy  gray,  resemb- 
ling that  of  the  beech,  but  somewhat  lighter.  On  the  older  trees, 
it  is  usually  overspread  with  grayish  parmelias  and  lecanoras, 
and  other  bluish,  whitish,  and  gray  lichens.  The  recent  shoots 
are  of  a  yellowish  or  olive  gray,  with  a  slight,  downy  powder, 
afterwards  becoming  of  a  clear  gray.  It  is  found  growing  in 
company  with  the  red  maple,  the  tupelo,  the  yellow  birch,  the 
black  oak,  and  the  cedar. 

Leaves  on  short  footstalks,  evergreen,  oval-oblong  or  elliptic, 
acute  at  both  ends  or  somewhat  angled  at  base,  with  several 
large  teeth  ending  in  stiff  spines,  leathery,  smooth  and  shining 
above,  paler  or  greenish  yellow,  with  bright  green  veins,  beneath. 
At  their  base,  when  recent,  a  pair  of  awl-shaped,  brown  sti- 
pules may  be  seen. 

The  perfect  or  fertile  flowers  are  solitary,  at  the  base  of  the 
recent  shoots,  on  stems  half  an  inch  long,  beneath  the  base  of 
which  are  a  lanceolate,  membranous,  brown,  fugacious  scale, 
and  two  minute,  pointed,  more  permanent  ones  at  its  sides ;  and 
above  the  middle  are  two  appressed,  minute,  pointed,  green 


342        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

scales.  The  calyx  has  four  triangular,  pointed,  ciliate  teeth. 
The  corolla,  four  oblong,  roundish,  white  segments,  with  green- 
ish veins.  The  stamens  are  four,  from  the  base  of  the  corolla, 
between  its  segments,  and  two  thirds  as  long.  The  ovary  is 
large,  egg-shaped,  green,  crowded  with  a  sessile  stigma,  with 
four  rounded  angles.  The  berries  are  scarlet,  contain  four  stony 
seeds  or  nuts,  and  remain  on  the  tree  into  the  winter.  It  flow- 
ers in  June. 

This  tree  is  found  plentifully  at  Quincy,  at  Cohasset,  and 
especially  at  New  Bedford,  and  on  Naushon  Island.  It  has 
considerable  beauty,  and  is  particularly  valuable  for  retaining 
its  bright  green  leaves  through  the  year,  and  for  the  beauty  of 
its  scarlet  berries.  The  leaves  are  seldom  touched  by  an  insect. 
On  these  accounts,  it  deserves  cultivation  as  an  ornamental  tree. 
It  has  great  resemblance  to  the  European  holly,  which  makes 
the  most  durable  hedge  of  any  plant  whatever,  and  one  which 
is  kept  in  repair,  when  once  established,  at  the  least  expense. 
The  objection  to  it  is  the  slowness  of  its  growth.  Our  tree  is 
commonly  found  on  a  rather  dry,  sandy,  or  rocky  soil,  but  will 
grow  on  almost  any.  The  European  is  found  to  do  best  on  a 
rich,  sandy  loam,  in  an  open  forest  of  oak.  It  is  propagated  by 
seeds  or  by  plants  taken  from  the  woods.  The  seeds  do  not 
germinate  for  more  than  a  year  after  sowing;  they  are,  there- 
fore, kept  in  moist  earth  for  a  year  after  gathering,  after  which 
they  are  sown  at  the  depth  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  in  fine 
soil.  The  surface  should  be  protected  from  heat  and  drought, 
by  a  covering  of  half-rotten  leaves  or  litter.  When  transplanted, 
they  should  still  be  protected,  for  a  while,  from  the  heat  of  the 
sun.  The  best  time  for  transplanting  is  early  in  spring,  before 
the  plant  has  begun  to  shoot. 

The  wood  of  the  holly  is  compact  and  of  a  beautifully  close 
grain  and  satiny  texture.  The  sap-wood  is  white,  the  heart- 
wood  brown.  Both  are  very  hard,  when  seasoned,  and  sus- 
ceptible of  a  brilliant  polish,  in  their  natural  state,  and  when 
colored ;  and  are  used  in  as  great  quantities  as  can  be  procured, 
by  turners,  by  screw-makers,  by  whip-makers  for  the  handles 
of  whips,  by  engravers,  and  by  cabinet-makers  for  inlaid  work. 
For  these  various  uses,  the  wood    is  brought  into  Boston,  in 


XVI.     2.  THE  WILD  HOLLY.  343 

pieces  usually  fifteen  or  sixteen  inches  long,  and  from  one  to 
six  inches  thick. 

From  the  bark  of  the  European  species  bird-lime  is  made ; 
and  the  berries  of  our  species,  as  well  as  of  some  others,  have 
emetic  properties. 

The  American  holly  has  not  been  found  farther  north  than 
Massachusetts.  By  Michaux  it  had  not  been  observed  north 
of  Long  Island.  It  is  found  in  all  the  Southern  States,  and 
westward  as  far  as  Tennessee. 

Seven  or  eight  other  species  are  also  found  growing  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  United  States. 

XVI.  2.    WILD  HOLLY.   NEMOPANTHUS*  Rafinesque. 

A  genus  of  a  single  species,  with  sterile,  fertile,  and  perfect 
flowers  on  the  same  or  on  distinct  plants  ;  a  very  minute,  four 
(or  five)  toothed  calyx ;  a  corolla  of  four  (or  five)  distinct,  ob- 
long-linear, fugacious  petals;  stamens  four  or  five,  longer  than 
the  corolla  and  alternating  with  its  petals  ;  ovary  hemispherical, 
with  four  cells ;  style  none,  stigma  four-lobed ;  fruit  a  round, 
four-seeded  berry. 

The  Wild  Holly.    Mountain  Holly.  N.  Canadensis.  Michaux. 

A  beautiful,  slender  shrub,  rising  to  the  height  of  six  or  eight 
feet,  and  in  swamps  sometimes  to  ten  or  twelve.  The  recent 
shoots  are  purple  or  olive,  with  round,  gray  dots,  which,  after 
the  second  year,  are  scarcely  to  be  perceived.  The  larger 
branches  are  greenish  gray,  growing  darker  and  purplish,  and 
finally,  on  the  older  stems,  covered  with  various,  white,  gray 
and  brown,  membranous  lichens.  The  leaves  vary  in  shape, 
from  a  short,  broad  oval,  to  oblong,  and  inversely  lance-shaped, 
tapering  at  the  base,  acute  at  the  end,  or  rounded  with  an  ab- 
rupt point,  very  smooth  and  entire,  or  with  a  few  distant  serra- 

*  Rafinesque;  in  Silliman's  Journal,  proposes  the  name  Nemopanthus,  which,  he 
says,  means  "flower  with  a  filiform  peduncle,"  for  this  new  genus.  His  name 
should  be  retained,  as  he  wrote  it,  if  at  all,  and  his  generic  description,  which  was 
communicated  in  January,  1818,  has  priority  to  Prof.  Dewey's,  which  was  only  sug- 
gested, according  to  Prof.  Eaton,  in  that  year. — Eato?i's  Manual,  p.  403,  note. 


344       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tures,  of  a  light  green  above,  paler  and  finely  reticulated  be- 
neath. 

The  flowers  are  very  small,  on  long,  slender,  thread-like 
stalks,  solitary  or  in  bunches,  at  the  base  of  a  tuft  of  leaves  or 
a  young  branch.  The  calyx  is  so  small  that  it  seems  to  be 
wanting.  The  corolla  consists  of  four  oblong,  narrow  petals, 
of  pale  white,  which  soon  fall.  The  four  stamens  alternate 
with  the  petals,  with  rather  large  anthers  on  long,  slender  fila- 
ments. The  berry  is  as  large  as  a  pea,  of  a  beautiful  pale  crim- 
son color,  ripe  in  August,  and  contains  four,  somewhat  prisma- 
tic, stony  nuts,  in  a  yellowish  pulp.  It  is  supported  by  a  stalk 
of  the  same  color,  an  inch  or  more  long.  The  flowers  expand 
in  May  and  June. 

The  Nemopanthus  is  found  in  almost  all  the  low,  wet  woods 
in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  and  on  the  southern  side  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  State.  It  is  found  in  Cana- 
da, throughout  New  England,  and  in  New  York  and  Michigan. 

XVI.     3.     THE  WINTER  BERRY.     PRINOS.     L. 

The  winter  berry  is  a  genus  of  twelve  or  thirteen  species  of 
shrubs,  some  of  them  evergreen,  some  deciduous,  natives  of 
North  America.  They  differ  from  the  two  preceding  genera  in 
having  their  calyx  and  corolla  usually  six-parted,  with  six  sta- 
mens, and  a  berry  with  six  seeds.  Some  of  the  most  beautiful 
are  natives  of  Massachusetts,  and  these,  with  a  few  others,  are 
cultivated  in  Europe  as  ornamental  shrubs.  The  three  found 
here  are  the  Black  Alder,  P.  rerticilldlas,  with  flowers  and  fruit 
in  clusters  in  the  axil  of  the  leaves ;  the  Single-berry  Black 
Alder,  P.  kevigatus,  with  its  flowers  and  fruits  larger  and  soli- 
tary ;  and  the  Ink-berry,  P.  gldber,  with  evergreen  leaves. 

Sp.  1.     The  Black  Alder.     P.  veriicilldtus.     L. 

Figured  in  Bigelovv's  Medical  Botany,  Plate  56. 

A  handsome  shrub,  five  or  six,  rarely  ten  or  twelve,  feet  high, 
with  crowded  branches  and  leaves,  conspicuous  for  its  bunches 
of  axillary  blossoms,  and  of  scarlet  berries,  remaining  late  in  the 
autumn  or  even  into  the  winter.     The  recent  shoots  are  clothed 


XVI.    3.     THE  SINGLE  BERRY  BLACK  ALDER.      345 

with  an  apple  green  bark,  which,  on  the  large  branches,  turns 
to  a  pearly  gray,  and  on  the  older  stems  is  of  a  polished  and 
clouded  dark  color,  whence  the  plant  derives  its  common  name. 
The  leaves  are  two  or  three  inches  long  and  half  as  broad,  lance- 
shaped,  oval,  or  inversely  egg-shaped,  acute  at  both  ends,  often 
abruptly  at  the  extremity,  sharply  serrate,  smooth  above,  downy 
along  the  prominent  veins  beneath,  on  footstalks  half  an  inch 
long.  The  flowers  are  white,  the  stamen-bearing,  in  crowded 
bunches,  of  from  three  to  twelve  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  on 
stems  one  or  two  lines  long,  with  minute  brown  scales  at  the 
base.  The  calyx  consists  of  six  small,  appressed,  rounded  or 
jagged  segments.  The  corolla  is  of  one  piece,  wheel-shaped, 
ending  in  six  or  seven,  rounded,  spreading,  or  recurved  seg- 
ments, just  below  the  angles  of  which,  within  the  tube,  are  the 
short  stamens,  with  large  brown  anthers  opening  at  the  sides 
and  discharging  orange  pollen.  On  the  fertile  flowers,  which  are 
single  or  crowded,  on  very  short  stems,  the  stamens  are  very  short, 
and  the  false  anthers  are  white  and  form  a  part  of  the  filament. 
The  berries  are  of  a  bright  scarlet,  round,  or  slightly  compressed, 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  solitary,  or  in  bunches 
of  two  or  three,  and  remain  long  on  the  bush.  The  persistent 
calyx,  at  the  base,  is  of  a  darker  color,  and  the  stigma,  which 
crowns  the  berry,  is  brown.  The  pulp  is  yellowish,  and  envel- 
opes six  or  eight  lunate  seeds.  The  flowers  expand  in  June. 
The  berries  are  ripe  in  September. 

The  bark  and  berries  of  the  black  alder  are  somewhat  bitter 
and  astringent,  and  have  been  sometimes  substituted  for  Peru- 
vian bark  in  the  treatment  of  intermittent  fevers.  The  bark 
has  also  been  considered  of  great  use,  both  taken  internally,  and 
employed  as  a  wash,  in  cases  of  incipient  gangrene  and  in  the 
cure  of  eruptions  on  the  skin. — See  Bigeloitfs  Med.  Bol.,  Ill,  141. 

Sp.  2.    The  Single  Berry  Black  Alder.    P.  Icevigdlas.    Pursh. 
Leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Abbott's  Insects  of  Georgia,  II,  Plate  86. 

A  beautiful  shrub,  six,  eight,  or  ten  feet  high,  with  grayish 
branches,  scattered  with  minute  dots  of  the  same  color,  aud  a 
smooth,  alder-like  trunk  with  brownish  green  bark,  clouded  at 
45 


346        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

intervals  with  light  gray  lichens.  Leaves  in  tnfts,  or  alternate 
on  the  upper  shoots,  on  short  petioles,  lanceolate  or  broader 
towards  the  extremity,  acute  at  both  ends,  often  with  a  twisted 
acnmination,  margin  slightly  revolute,  with  a  few  appressed 
serratures,  light  green  and  shining  on  both  surfaces,  smooth, 
except  a  slight  pubescence  along  the  nerves  beneath,  from  one 
and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half  inches  long,  and  one  half  to  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  wide. 

The  staminiferous  flowers  are  on  footstalks  from  one  third  of 
an  inch  to  one  inch  in  length,  in  the  axil  of  the  leaves  or  bud 
scales ;  fertile  flowers  on  very  short  footstalks,  in  the  axils  of 
the  leaves.  The  fruit,  which  remains  on  the  stem  during  a  great 
portion  of  the  winter,  is  of  a  rich  orange  scarlet.  It  is  solitary, 
three  or  four  tenths  of  an  inch  thick,  on  stems  as  long  as  its 
diameter.     The  buds  are  very  small. 

This  plant  grows  in  deep,  wet  swamps,  in  Cambridge,  and 
many  other  parts  of  the  State,  and  is  attractive  in  June  from 
the  multitude  of  its  white  flowers,  in  autumn  and  winter  from 
its  large  scarlet  berries,  and  at  all  times  from  the  glossy  lustre 
of  its  leaves. 

Sp.  3.     The  Ink  Berry.     P.  gldber.     L. 
Leaves  and  fruit  figured  in  Abbott's  Insects,  I,  Plate  35. 

An  elegant,  delicate-looking,  evergreen  shrub,  with  slender 
branches,  growing  in  a  few  sheltered  places  in  Plymouth  and 
Hingham,  to  the  height  of  from  two  to  eight  or  nine  feet. 

The  leaves  are  lance-shaped  or  inversely  lance-shaped,  an 
inch  or  more  long,  one  third  or  one  half  an  inch  broad,  tapering 
at  base,  terminating  in  an  abrupt  point ;  slightly  reflexed  at  the 
margin,  with  one  or  two  large,  rounded  teeth  on  each  side  to- 
wards the  end,  polished  on  both  surfaces. 

The  flowers  are  solitary,  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  on  thread- 
like, minutely  hairy  stalks,  half  an  inch  long.  The  calyx  ends 
in  six  obtusely  pointed  lobes ;  the  corolla  in  six  or  seven 
oblong,  rounded  segments,  alternate  with  which  are  the  white 
stamens,  ending  in  brown  anthers.  Ovary  green,  low,  conical, 
crowned  with  a  broad  stigma. 


XVII.  THE  MADDER  FAMILY.  347 

The  elegance  of  the  evergreen  foliage  causes  it  to  be  much 
sought  after,  to  be  mingled  with  bouquets  in  winter ;  and  for  this 
purpose  it  is  brought  from  considerable  distances,  and  carefully 
kept  in  cellars  sometimes  for  months. 


FAMILY  XVII.     THE  MADDER  FAMILY.    RTJBIA'CEJE.    Jussieu. 

This  is  a  very  extensive  family,  comprehending  nearly  two 
thousand  species  of  trees,  shrubs  and  herbs,  with  roundish  or 
four-sided  stems  and  branches,  entire  leaves,  opposite  or  in 
whorls,  with  stipules  between  the  leaves,  often  resembling 
leaves,  and  with  regular  flowers. 

This  family  is  divided  into  many  sub-orders  and  tribes, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  that,  (Stellala,)  which  includes  the 
Madder,  Rubia,  and  the  Cleavers,  Galium,  which  is  made  a 
separate  family  by  some  writers,  is  a  remarkably  natural  one. 
It  is  mostly  confined  to  countries  within  or  near  the  tropics, 
a  few  species  only  occurring  far  to  the  north.  The  properties 
of  different  plants  of  this  family  are  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance. Madder,  and  several  species  of  Galium  yield  valuable 
dyes  and  pigments.  The  roots  oi  Dyers'  Cleavers,  G.  linc- 
torium,  were  employed  by  the  North  American  Indians  to  give 
to  the  quills  of  the  porcupine  a  red  color,  which  neither  sun, 
air,  nor  water  would  change.  The  seeds  of  some  species  of 
the  same  genus,  are  a  successful  substitute  for  coffee.  The 
Peruvian  bark,  (kiu-kina,  "the  bark  of  barks,")  the  best  febri- 
fuge known,  is  obtained  from  several  species  of  Cinchona,  na- 
tives of  Peru,  which  possess,  in  very  various  degrees,  the  bitter, 
astringent  and  alkaline  properties,  which  give  them  their  virtue. 
Pinckneya  pubens,  the  fever  bark  of  Carolina,  is  reputed  to 
have  properties  similar  to  Cinchona.  Coffee  is  the  horny,  albu- 
minous seed  of  Cqfea  Arabica,  the  best  known  and  most  import- 
ant species  of  a  numerous  group.  All  the  different  kinds  of  coffee 
known  in  commerce,  are  varieties  of  this  one  species,  originally 
brought  from  Mocha,  or,  according  to  Raynal,  from  the  moun- 


348  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tains  of  Abyssinia,  of  which  it  is  a  native,  and  from  which  it 
was  transported,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  to 
the  mountains  of  the  happy  Arabia. 

The  East  India  coffee  plantations  are  derived  from  a  single 
plant  raised  in  Batavia,  from  seed  introduced  from  Mocha  in 
1690 ;  and  those  of  the  West  Indies  are  said  to  have  been  pro- 
duced, also,  from  a  single  plant,  presented,  in  1714,  by  the 
Dutch,  to  Louis  XIV.  This  was  multiplied  in  the  Royal  Gar- 
dens, whence  three  plants  were  despatched  on  board  a  ship  des- 
tined for  Martinique.  Two  of  them  perished  in  the  long  and 
dangerous  passage,  and  the  third  was  kept  alive  only  through 
the  self-sacrificing  generosity  of  the  Captain,  Declieux,  who 
shared  with  it  his  allowance  of  water.  Probably  the  propaga- 
tion of  no  single  plant  has  produced,  in  modern  times,  so  great 
an  effect  upon  the  habits  of  mankind.* 

Ipecac,  one  of  the  most  universal  emetics,  is  the  creeping, 
brownish,  or  grayish  root  of  Cfphaelis  Ipecacuanha,  (D.  C,  IV, 
535,)  of  Brazil,  where  it  is  known  by  the  name  of  Poyas. 

Several  of  the  genera,  Nauclca  and  Hymcnody'ction,  furnish 
woods  which  vie  with  box  and  mahogany  in  delicacy  and  beauty; 
of  another,  Siderodejidron,  iron  wood,  the  hardest  of  American 
woods,  is  the  produce.  Several  others  yield  valuable  fruits, 
and  a  still  greater  number  are  remarkable  for  their  magnificent 
and  often  odoriferous  flowers,  and  their  beautiful  foliage. 

The  coloring  properties  of  this  family  are  found  to  reside 
chiefly  in  the  root,  the  tonic  and  astringent  properties  in  the 
bark,  the  valuable  emetic  principle  in  the  root,  the  aromatic 
principle  of  the  coffee,  in  the  horny  seeds.  It  is  in  correspond- 
ing parts  of  plants  of  this  family,  growing  among  ourselves, 
that  we  are  to  look  for  similar  properties. 

The  distinguishing  characters  of  the  family  are.  that  the  ovary 
is  more  or  less  completely  united  with  the  four  or  five-cleft 
calyx,  into  the  tube  of  which  the  corolla  is  inserted;  the  sta- 
mens are  equal  in  number  to  the  lobes  of  the  corolla,  alternate 
with  them,  and  growing  from  the   throat  of  the  corolla;  and 

*  The  name  affords  a  curious  instance  of  derivation.  The  Arabic  name  is 
Quahoueh,  or  Kahoueh,  the  Persian,  Cahiva,  the  Turkish  Cahvey,  French,  Cafe, 
English,  Coffee. 


XVII.     1.  THE  BUTTON  BUSH.  349 

that  the  ovary  has,  in  some  of  the  tribes,  one,  or  rarely  two 
ovaries,  in  others  several. 

In  this  family  there  are  two  genera  belonging  to  Massachu- 
setts : — 

Button  Bush,  Cephalanthus,  with  flowers  in  a  globose  head ; 

Partridge  Berry,  Mitchella,  flowers  terminal,  in  twos,  on  a 
double  ovary. 

In  the  sub-order,  Cinchonece,  the  third  sub-tribe,  in  the  divis- 
ion of  Torrey  and  Gray,  is 

Cephala'nthe.e, — distinguished  by  its  flowers  and  fruit  being 
sessile  and  densely  aggregated  on  a  globose  receptacle,  the  fruit 
dry  and  divisible  into  two  or  four  parts. 

XYII.     1.     BUTTON  BUSH.     CEPHALA'NTHUS.     L. 

American  shrubs,  with  oval  or  lanceolate,  opposite  or  ternate 
leaves,  short  stipules,  and  flowers  crowded  on  a  globular,  hairy 
receptacle,  with  a  calyx  tube  in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  py- 
ramid, the  border  four-toothed,  a  tubular  four-cleft  corolla,  four 
stamens,  fruit  inversely  pyramidal,  leathery,  two-  to  four-celled, 
separating  from  the  base  to  the  summit  into  two  to  four,  closed, 
one-seeded  portions. 

The  Button  Bush.     River  Bush.     C.  occidentalis.     L. 

Figured  in  Barton's  Flora,  III,  Plate  91. 

The  button  bush  is  found  along  the  banks  of  slow  streams, 
forming  little  islets  in  muddy  ponds,  and  in  other  situations  in 
which  its  roots  and  the  lower  part  of  its  stem  are  immersed  in 
water  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  year.  From  stout,  con- 
torted roots,  often  several  inches  in  diameter,  and  from  large, 
prostrate,  root-like  trunks,  it  rises  with  an  erect  or  sinuous 
stem,  to  the  height  of  from  four  to  ten  feet.  On  the  recent 
shoots  the  bark  is  of  a  bright,  polished,  copper  color,  or  olive 
green,  or  reddish  bronze,  with  a  few  brown  dots,  and  turns 
gradually  to  a  light  brown.  Afterwards,  it  begins  to  crack, 
and  from  brown  or  purplish  turns  to  a  dark  granite  gray.  The 
bark  on  the  older  stems  is  cracked,  rough  and  gray,  and  often 


350        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

covered  with  lichens.     The  recent  shoots  are  tough;  the  pith 
considerable  ;  the  older  wood  light  and  brittle. 

The  leaves  are  opposite,  or  in  threes,  of  a  broad-oval,  or 
lanceolate,  or  ovate  shape,  very  entire,  acute  at  base,  pointed  at 
the  extremity,  sometimes  wavy  at  the  border,  smooth  on  both 
surfaces,  of  a  bright,  shining  green  above,  light  and  much 
reticulate,  and  sometimes  downy  on  the  veins  beneath ;  and 
tough  and  leathery  in  texture.  They  are  from  three  to  five 
inches  in  length,  of  somewhat  more  than  half  that  breadth, 
and  are  on  stout,  channelled,  or  bordered  footstalks,  from  half 
an  inch  to  an  inch  long.  Between  the  footstalks  are  small, 
faded  stipules,  which  leave  a  slight  scar  when  removed. 

The  globular  heads  of  flowers  are  on  round  stalks  from  one  inch 
to  three  inches  long,  terminal,  or  in  the  axil  of  the  upper  leaves, 
and  hence  solitary,  or  in  twos,  or  threes,  or  fours,  on  the  ends  of 
the  branches ;  or,  as  the  leaves  of  the  upper  whorl  are  some- 
times very  minute,  they  appear  in  terminal  sevens.  The  flow- 
ers appear  in  June  and  July,  sometimes  in  August,  of  a  yellow- 
ish white,  bristling  with  the  long  styles,  and  as  they  are  closely 
arranged  on  every  side  of  a  small,  terminal,  globular,  fleshy  re- 
ceptacle, they  form  a  spherical  head,  each  flower  being  com- 
pressed into  the  shape  of  a  four-sided,  inverted  pyramid.  The 
calyx  is  short,  green,  tubular,  externally  invested  with  long, 
silken  hairs,  is  angular  from  compression,  and  ends  in  four 
rounded  lobes.  The  corolla,  when  freshly  opened,  is  of  a  deli- 
cate white,  but  soon  turns  brown.  It  is  a  slender,  tapering  tube, 
hairy  within,  twice  as  long  as  the  calyx,  ending  in  four,  rounded 
segments,  with  black  points,  on  short  footstalks,  at  the  angles, 
just  within  which  are  the  anthers,  resting  erect  on  the  end  of 
filaments  which  are  attached  to  the  tube  of  the  corolla  within. 
The  style  is  twice  as  long  as  the  corolla,  tapering,  and  ending 
in  an  ovate  stigma. 

"  Button  bush,  or  river  bush,  is  a  frequent  ornament  of  the 
water  side,  its  insulated  thickets  furnishing  a  safe  retreat  for 
the  nests  of  the  black  bird,  (Oriolus phceniceits).'7  "The  ap- 
pearance of  this  shrub,  on  elevated  ground,  often  indicates  the 
presence  of  springs  of  water." — Bigelow  Ft.,  51.  It  is  culti- 
vated in  Europe  for  ornament,  recommending  itself  by  its  sin- 


XVII.     2.  THE  PARTRIDGE  BERRY.  351 

gular  mode  of  flowering,  and  by  its  flowers  appearing  at  a  season 
when  few  others  are  to  be  seen.  It  grows  well  in  common 
garden  soil,  in  situations  moderately  moist,  and  is  readily  prop- 
agated by  seeds,  by  cuttings  or  by  layers. 

The  characteristic  properties  of  the  family,  particularly  its 
tonic  power,  undoubtedly  reside  in  this  plant.  The  inner  bark 
of  the  root,  according  to  Elliot,  is  of  an  agreeable  bitter,  and  is 
often  used,  in  the  South,  as  a  remedy  for  obstinate  coughs.  It 
has  been  recommended  in  affections  of  the  skin.  Other  prop- 
erties will  probably  be  discovered. 

To  another  tribe,  belongs  a  singular  New  England  plant, 
named  in  honor  of  Dr.  John  Mitchell,  a  botanist  of  Virginia, — 

XVII.    2.    PARTRIDGE  BERRY.     MITCHELLA.     L. 

A  genus  including  two  species  of  smooth,  creeping,  ever- 
green plants,  with  opposite,  ovate  or  rounded,  short-stemmed 
leaves,  and  axillary  or  terminal  flowers,  which  in  one  species 
are  solitary,  in  the  other  in  pairs,  with  their  ovaries  united. 
The  border  of  the  calyx  is  conspicuous,  four-toothed  ;  the  co- 
rolla funnel-shaped,  with  a  slender  tube  four-lobed  in  the  bor- 
der ;  four  stamens,  attached  to  the  tube  of  the  corolla ;  ovary 
four-celled,  surmounted  by  a  slender,  long  style,  bearing  four 
stigmas  ;  fruit  a  berry,  in  one  species  round,  in  the  other  oblate- 
globose,  with  four,  one-seeded  nuts. 

The  Partridge  Berry.     Creeping  Mitchella..    M.  repens.    L. 

Figured  in  Barton's  Flora,  III,  Plate  95. 

A  beautiful  little  creeping,  evergreen  plant,  with  its  stem 
trailing  along  the  ground  about  the  foot  of  trees,  in  deep,  shady, 
moist  woods,  in  company,  oftentimes,  with  Gaultheria,  and  the 
equally  beautiful  Linnafa  which  it  so  much  resembles.  At  dis- 
tances, it  throws  down  hair-like  roots;  its  terminal  branches 
slightly  ascending,  and  with  the  pairs  of  roundish  leaves, 
almost  completely  covering  the  ground,  and  forming  a  carpet, 
enamelled  in  spring  with  the  pearly,  rose-colored,  fragrant 
twin-flowers,  and  in  autumn  with  the  bright  scarlet  berries. 
The  leaves  are  in   twos,  on  short  stalks,  about  the  size  of  the 


352       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

finger  nail,  roundish,  often  orbicular,  kidney-shaped  at  base, 
rounded  at  the  end,  with  the  veins  prominent,  of  a  uniform 
dark  green  above,  or  variegated  with  a  lighter  spot  and  whitish 
veins;  the  margin  somewhat  revolute;  under  surface  perfectly 
smooth. 

The  flowers  are  rose-colored,  or  white,  in  pairs,  the  tubes  of 
the  corollas,  hairy  within,  diverging  from  the  united  ovaries. 
The  fruit,  as  large  as  a  whortleberry,  broader  than  it  is  long, 
and  seeming  to  be  made  of  two  berries  grown  together,  side  by 
side,  and  crowned  with  their  calyxes,  scarlet,  with  a  rather  dry, 
whitish,  almost  tasteless  pulp,  containing  three  or  four,  small, 
flattened,  lens-like,  stony  seeds.  Flowers  in  June  and  July. 
The  fruit  remains  on  through  the  winter,  and  contributes  to 
furnish  food  for  the  partridge,  and  other  birds  that  remain  in 
our  climate. 


FAMILY  XVIII.     THE    HONEYSUCKLE   FAMILY.     CAPRIFOL1- 

A'CEJE.     Jussieu. 

This  family  consists  of  climbing,  trailing,  or  erect,  woody 
shrubs  or  under  shrubs,  and  sometimes  herbaceous  plants,  re- 
markable for  their  beauty,  and  some  of  them  much  valued, 
and  universally  cultivated  for  ornament.  These  often  fragrant, 
always  beautiful  plants,  of  which  there  are  about  eighty  species, 
are  natives  of  the  northern  parts  of  both  continents,  beyond  or 
just  within  the  tropics.  The  bark  of  many  of  them  is  astrin- 
gent: and  a  species  of  Lonicera  is  used  in  Chili  to  dye  black. 
The  flowers  of  the  greater  part  are  as  remarkable  for  their  de- 
licious fragrance  as  for  their  beauty.  The  fruit  is  usually,  in 
some  degree,  emetic  or  purgative. 

They  are  distinguished  by  their  apparently  jointed  stems ; 
simple,  opposite  leaves,  with  the  footstalks  of  each  pair  com- 
monly united  at  base;  their  flowers  perfect,  regular,  or  more 
commonly  irregular,  five-parted,  in  pairs,  or  heads,  with  com- 
monly two  bracts  at  the  base  of  the  flower-stalk;  calyx  adhe- 
rent to  the  ovary,  with  its  border  five-parted;  corolla  tubular, 


XVIII.    1.     TWIN-FLOWER  OF  THE  WOODS.  353 

with  its  border  five-lobed ;  stamens  five,  sometimes  only  four, 
inserted  in  the  throat  of  the  corolla  and  alternate  with  its  lobes; 
ovary  three-,  sometimes  five-celled ;  fruit  a  one-celled,  some- 
times three-  or  five-celled  berry,  with  one  or  several  seeds. 
The  woody  plants  have  a  soft,  light,  more  or  less  abundant 
pith,  wood  usually  brittle,  and  bark  which  becomes  loose  and 
stringy. 

There  are  four  genera  found  native  in  Massachusetts : — 

The  Twin-Flower,  Li?ma;Ka,  an  humble,  trailing,  evergreen 
herb,  with  four  stamens  ; 

The  Feverwort,  Triosteum,  an  erect,  simple,  herbaceous  plant 
with  five  stamens ; 

The  Honeysuckle,  Lonicera,  a  climber,  with  one-  to  three- 
celled,  few-seeded  berries  ;  and 

The  Bush  Honeysuckle,  Diervilla,  an  erect  plant,  with  one- 
to  three -celled,  many- seeded  berries. 

XVIII.    1.    THE  TWIN-FLOWER,    LINNMA.   Gronovius. 

A  genus  containing  a  single  species,  which  is  a  creeping,  ever- 
green herb,  indigenous  to  the  northern  part  of  the  old  and  new 
world,  with  an  ovate  calyx-tnbe,  four  stamens,  two  of  them 
longer,  inserted  into  the  base  of  the  corolla,  a  three-celled  ovary; 
and  fruit,  a  dry,  three-sided,  one-seeded  berry. 

The  Twin-Flower  of  the  Woods.     L.  borealis.     Gronovius. 

Figured  in  Hooker's  Flora  Londinensis,  Plate  199. 

In  the  pine  woods  in  the  northern  parts  of  New  England, 
where  moss-covered  columns  support,  at  a  great  height,  a 
thick,  close  top,  the  shaded  ground  is  often  carpeted  with  the 
leaves  of  this  delicate  and  beautiful  flower,  alone,  or  intermin- 
gled with  moss.  Its  woody  stem  creeps  to  the  distance  of  several 
feet  along  or  just  beneath  the  surface,  the  raised  branches  send- 
ing out  pairs  of  very  small,  roundish  leaves,  and  at  intervals,  a 
slender,  erect  thread,  bearing  a  pair  of  modest,  drooping,  fra- 
grant flowers,  white  or  tinged  with  a  faint  blush  of  rose-color 
or  purple.  The  leaves  are  one  fourth  or  one  half  an  inch  long, 
46 


354       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

nearly  orbicular  or  elliptic,  with  two  or  three  rounded  teeth  on 
each  side,  and  scattered  beneath  and  on  the  margin  with  a  few 
hairs.  The  stem  is  reddish.  The  almost  capillary  flower  stem, 
the  bracts  at  the  base  of  each  partial  stem,  as  well  as  the  calyx, 
are  covered  with  minute,  glandular  hairs,  which  are  also  found 
on  the  inside  of  the  corolla.  The  calyx  ends  in  five  lanceolate 
segments.  Beneath  the  calyx  is  a  pair,  sometimes  two,  of  slen- 
der, linear  bracts.  The  country  people  call  this  plant  twin- 
flower.  Botanists  have  given  it  a  name  in  honor  of  Linnaeus. 
How  often,  in  the  dark  forests  of  both  continents,  in  the  northern 
parts  of  which  it  is  widely  spread,  has  the  name  of  the  great 
reformer  and  systematist  been  called  to  the  mind  of  his  fol- 
lowers by  the  sight  of  this  interesting  plant ! 

"  Linnsea,"  says  Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  "  is  so  called  in 
honor  of  the  great  Swedish  naturalist,  Linnaeus ;  and  appears, 
by  the  journal  of  his  tour  to  Lapland,  to  have  been  chosen  by 
himself  to  commemorate  his  own  name,  when  he  gathered  it 
at  Lyksele,  May  29,  1732.  Former  botanists  had  called  this 
elegant  and  singular  little  plant  Campanula  serpi/lli folia  •  but 
Linnssus,  prosecuting  the  study  of  vegetables  on  the  only  cer- 
tain principles,  the  structure  of  their  parts  of  fructification,  soon 
found  this  to  constitute  a  new  genus.  He  reserved  the  idea  in 
his  own  mind  till  his  discoveries  and  publications  had  entitled 
him  to  botanical  commemoration  ;  and  his  friend  Gronovius,  in 
due  time,  undertook  to  make  this  genus  known  to  the  world. 
It  was  published  by  Linnaeus  himself,  in  the  Genera  Planta- 
rum,  in  1737,  and  the  same  year  in  the  Flora  Lapponlca,  with 
a  plate  ;  being,  moreover,  mentioned  in  the  Crilica  Botanica, 
as  '  a  humble,  despised,  and  neglected  Lapland  plant,  flowering 
at  an  early  age,'  like  the  person  whose  name  it  bears." 

XVIII.     2.     THE  FEVER  ROOT.     TRIOSTEUM.     L. 

A  small  genus,  containing  only  four  or  five  species  of  peren- 
nial herbs  or  low  shrubs,  found  in  North  America  and  the 
mountains  of  Central  Asia,  with  opposite  leaves  whose  stems 
are  somewhat  united  at  base,  and  flowers  on  short  stalks  or 
sessile  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves.     The  lobes  of  the  calyx  are 


XVIII.     2.  THE  FEVER  ROOT.  355 

long  and  slender,  and  form  a  permanent  crown  to  the  ripened 
fruit ;  the  tubular  corolla  is  a  little  longer  than  the  calyx,  and 
somewhat  unequal ;  and  the  berry  is  leathery  and  has  three 
cells,  and  three  or  five,  elliptic,  bony  seeds. 

The    Fever    Root.       T.  jterfoliativm.      L. 
Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  I,  Plate  9. 

This  is  a  hairy,  coarse-looking  plant,  with  upright,  annual 
stems,  from  one  to  four  feet  high,  proceeding  from  a  large, 
hoirzontal,  branched,  perennial  root.  It  is  distinguished  by  its 
large,  opposite  leaves,  the  pairs  crossing  each  other,  and  its 
brown,  axillary,  sessile  blossoms,  usually  in  clusters. 

It  is  found  in  shady  places,  in  rich,  moist  ground.  The 
calyx  is  of  five  linear-lanceolate,  sharp,  brown  segments,  per- 
sistent upon  the  ovary.  Ovary  round,  sessile,  green,  covered 
with  brown,  headed,  glandular  hairs,  with  a  thread-like  bract 
on  each  side.  Corolla  of  a  dull,  brownish  purple,  swelling  at 
base,  contracted  just  above,  expanding  towards  the  border, 
which  is  divided  into  five  rounded,  incurved,  unequal  segments. 
Stamens  five,  attached  to  the  lobe  of  the  corolla,  hairy,  yel- 
lowish white,  with  brown  anthers.  Style  as  long  as  the  corolla; 
hairy,  bearing  a  headed  or  shield-like  stigma.  Leaves  two  to 
six  inches  long  and  one  to  three  broad,  opposite,  connate,  in 
pairs,  crossing  each  other,  broad  ovate,  lanceolate,  acuminate, 
entire,  contracted  towards  the  base,  as  if  the  petiole  were 
winged,  rough,  veined,  often  waving,  somewhat  hairy  above, 
velvety,  pubescent  beneath.  Stem  rough,  hollow  throughout. 
It  flowers  in  June,  and  its  orange  berries  are  ripe  in  September. 

The  fever  root  has  long  had  reputation  for  its  medicinal  vir- 
tues. The  root,  in  the  form  of  powder,  or  as  an  extract,  has 
pretty  regular  effect  as  an  emetic  and  cathartic.  But,  to  be  sure 
of  its  virtues,  the  practitioner  must  have  it  renewed  every  year, 
as  it  is  thought  to  lose  its  efficacy  from  age.  The  stem  and 
leaves  seem  to  have  much  less  active  properties.  The  whole 
plant  is  bitter,  and,  in  small  doses,  has  a  tonic  effect. 


356        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


XVIII.     3.     THE  HONEYSUCKLE.     LONICERA.     L. 

A  genus  of  climbing  or  erect  shrubs  with  opposite  branches, 
and  leaves  entire,  opposite,  and  often  growing  together  at  base. 
The  flowers,  which  are  often  fragrant,  are  in  sessile  whorls  or 
heads,  or  on  footstalks,  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  The  species 
are  divided  by  De  Candolle  into  two  sections. 

The  first  section  embraces  climbing  plants  with  sessile  flow- 
ers in  whorled  clusters  or  heads,  and  with  leaves  often  connate  ; 
the  berries  crowned  with  the  persistent  limb  of  the  calyx,  form- 
ing the  genus  Caprifolium  of  Jussieu. 

Among  these  are  the  splendid  Scarlet  Honeysuckle  or 
Trumpet  Honeysuckle,  which  has  been  very  generally  intro- 
duced and  found  almost  perfectly  hardy,  although  it  is  a  native 
of  the  Southern  States,  and  not  found  naturally  growing  north 
of  New  York,  and  ten  other  species,  according  to  Torrey  and 
Gray,  natives  of  North  America,  of  which  the  following  belong 
to  Massachusetts. 

Sp.  1.     The  Hairy  Honeysuckle.     L.  hirsuta.     Eaton. 

A  perfectly  hardy,  climbing  plant,  found  on  damp,  rocky 
banks,  often  growing  to  the  height  of  fifteen  or  even  thirty  feet. 
Recent  shoots  reddish  green,  somewhat  downy,  or  often  nearly 
smooth.  Branches  reddish.  Leaves  on  short,  broad  footstalks, 
which,  in  the  upper  leaves,  are  winged,  and  embracing  the  stem. 
The  leaves  are  large,  very  broad-lanceolate  or  elliptic,  or  obovate, 
the  upper  ones  pointed,  the  lower  entire,  rounded,  sometimes 
rugose,  from  impressed  veins  above,  ciliate  on  the  reflexed  mar- 
gin, glaucous  and  soft,  downy  and  hairy  beneath.  The  upper 
pair  completely  grow  together  at  base,  like  the  upper  leaves  in 
other  honeysuckles.  They  terminate  in  an  abruptly  prolonged 
point,  and  are  ciliate  on  the  margin,  and  hairy  on  the  mid-rib 
beneath  :  but  in  surface  and  texture  are  so  entirely  unlike  the 
other  leaves,  that  they  are  more  properly  considered  as  connate 
bracts.  The  flowers  are  in  single  or  triple  terminal  heads, 
made  of  from  one  to  three  or  more  whorls,  on  short  footstalks; 
each  whorl  consists  of  about  six  sessile  flowers.     Calyx  of  five 


XVIII.     3.      THE  YELLOW  HONEYSUCKLE.  357 

minute,  angular  teeth.  Corolla  a  tube,  gibbous  on  the  outer 
side  at  base,  contracted  above,  and  expanding  with  two  tips, 
the  outer  one  of  a  single  oblong,  reflected  lobe,  the  inner  of 
four,  rounded  and  slightly  reflected  at  the  extremity.  The 
flowers,  covered  with  a  glandular  pubescence,  are  of  a  pale 
yellow  without,  and  hairy  and  of  a  rich  orange  within.  The 
inner  surface  and  the  filaments  below,  hairy.  Stamens  a  little 
longer  than  the  corolla  ;  style  ending  in  a  round,  flattened,  green 
stigma.  Berries  orange.  Found  in  the  western  parts  of  the 
State  and  in  Sudbury.     Flowers  in  June  and  July. 

Sp.  2.     The  Small-flowered  Yellow  Honeysuckle.     L.  par- 

viflora.     Lamarck. 

Stem  light  grayish.  Recent  shoots  light  glaucous,  or  green- 
ish gray,  with  slightly  projecting  ridges.  Leaves  very  glau- 
cous, almost  white  beneath,  and  often  with  an  undulate  mar- 
gin, giving  them  an  appearance,  at  a  little  distance,  of  being 
armed  with  spines  like  the  holly.  Corolla  yellow,  tinged  with 
purple.  Berries  orange.  This  is  often  an  erect  plant,  of  three 
or  four  feet,  with  no  great  beauty.  It  is  perfectly  hardy,  as  it 
is  found  growing  abundantly  in  the  western  parts  of  the  State. 
Flowers  in  June. 

To  the  first  section  also  belong  the  Woodbine  or  Common 
Honeysuckle,  L.  pericly'menum,  a  native  of  Europe,  very  gen- 
erally introduced  into  this  country;  and  the  Goat's  Leaf  Honey- 
suckle, L.  caprifblium. 

The  Yellow  Honeysuckle,  L.  JIdva,  a  native  of  the  Southern 
States,  has  long  been  cultivated  in  Europe,  and  has  thence  been 
introduced  here.  It  is  valuable  for  its  agreeable  fragrance  and 
the  splendor  of  its  large,  yellow  flowers.  Still  more  desirable 
is  the  Evergreen  Honeysuckle.  This  most  beautiful  of  the 
American  honeysuckles,  is  not  found  wild,  so  far  as  I  know, 
in  Massachusetts ;  but  as  it  is  perfectly  hardy,  and  more  adapt- 
ed to  ornament  gardens  and  front  doors  than  either  of  the 
others,  it  ought  to  be  introduced  to  universal  notice. 

The  flowers  are  trumpet-shaped,  the  tube  contracted  in  the 
middle,  somewhat  gibbous  outwardly  at  base,  enlarging  up- 
wards and  opening  with  five  reflected  lobes,  the  outer  one  some- 


358        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

what  larger  and  separate.  It  is  of  a  rich  scarlet  without,  tinged 
with  orange  within,  and  on  the  stamens,  which  are  slightly  pro- 
jecting. The  flowers  are  terminal  and  in  rather  distant  whorls, 
on  long  footstalks. 

The  uppermost  or  two  uppermost  pairs  of  leaves  are  connate, 
forming  a  round  or  oblong  leaf,  through  the  centre  of  which 
passes  the  stem.  The  next  leaves  are  four  or  five  inches  long 
and  two  or  three  broad.  The  lower  ones  much  more  narrow 
but  often  longer.  They  are  ovate-oblong,  or  elliptic,  smooth, 
glaucous  beneath.  Recent  shoots  green.  Stem  gray,  rough, 
the  bark  separating  in  long,  fibrous  scales. 

The  plant  grows  rapidly,  throws  out  a  multitude  of  branches, 
and  has  a  singularly  rich  appearance,  from  the  deep  green  of 
its  leaves  and  the  splendor  of  its  scarlet  flowers. 

The  second  section  includes  erect  or  climbing  plants,  with 
flowers  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves ;  berries  in  pairs,  distinct  or 
united,  not  crowned  with  the  limb  of  the  calyx,  and  with  leaves 
which  are  never  connate ;  Xylosteum  of  Jussieu.  The  most 
beautiful  and  fragrant  of  this  division  is  the  Chinese  or  Japan 
Honeysuckle,  L.  Chinensis,  not  generally  introduced,  but  as 
well  deserving  to  be  cultivated  as  any  species  whatever. 

Four  species  are  found  in  North  America,  two  of  them  in 
Massachusetts.  Both  have  two  minute  bracts  at  the  summit  of 
the  flower-stalk. 

Sp.  1.     The  Fly  Honeysuckle.     L.  ciliata.     Muhlenberg. 

A  shrub  five  or  six  feet  high,  with  a  few  straggling  branches, 
growing  among  rocks  and  in  wet  places  in  Essex  woods.  The 
stem  is  round,  slightly  ridged  by  a  line  running  down  from 
the  base  of  each  of  the  branches,  giving  it  an  angular  appear- 
ance. Bark  striated,  roughish,  of  a  grayish  ash  color,  clouded 
with  brown.  Branches  opposite,  forming  a  large  angle.  Leaves 
opposite,  on  very  short,  somewhat  hairy  stalks,  broad  ovate,  or 
lanceolate,  sometimes  heart-shaped,  entire,  pointed,  of  a  soft 
green  above,  paler  beneath,  substance  soft  and  leathery.  Wood 
soft,  greenish  white,  very  tough  when  young.  Pith  white, 
abundant,  in  small  stems,  occupying  nearly  half  the  diameter. 


XVIII.     4.       THE  BUSH  HONEYSUCKLE.  359 

Flowers  in  pairs.  The  corolla  is  of  a  pale  greenish  yellow, 
with  a  slight  projection  on  one  side  of  the  tube.  Berries  in 
pairs,  diverging,  egg-shaped,  red,  one  fourth  of  an  inch  long. 
The  flowers  are  in  twos,  on  a  long  footstalk,  with  two,  slender, 
short,  thread-like  bracts  at  the  base  of  each. 

Sp.  2.     The  Hairy  Fly  Honeysuckle.     L.  ccerulea.     L. 

A  rough  looking  bush,  from  one  to  four  feet  high,  with  crowd- 
ed, opposite,  diverging  branches,  growing  in  bogs  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State.  The  leaves  come  out  with  the  flowers.  The 
flowers  are  on  short  stems,  with  long,  slender  bracts  at  the  base 
of  the  calyx.  From  one  calyx  proceed  two  yellow  corollas, 
bulging  considerably  outwards  at  the  base  of  the  tube,  which 
ends  in  oblong,  erect  lobes.  The  leaves  are  oval  or  oblong, 
rough  on  both  surfaces  when  young,  but  becoming  smooth 
above  when  old.  The  berries,  which  are  made  up  of  two 
united  ovaries,  are  blue,  covered  with  a  glaucous  bloom. 

XVIII.    4.    THE  BUSH  HONEYSUCKLE.   DIERVILLA. 

Tournefort. 

A  genus  of  three  or  four  species  of  erect  shrubs,  indigenous 
to  North  America  and  Japan,  with  opposite,  ovate,  acuminate, 
sharply  serrate  leaves,  on  short  stems,  with  axillary  flowers, 
two,  three,  or  four  on  a  stem,  with  two  bracts  at  base.  The 
calyx-tube  is  cylindrical,  and  contracted  at  the  summit ;  the 
ovary  is  two-celled,  crowned  with  a  fleshy  disk,  which  fills  the 
throat  of  the  calyx  ;  the  fruit  a  crustaceous  or  leathery  capsule, 
with  two  cells,  two  valves,  and  many  seeds. 

The  Three-flowered  Bush  Honeysuckle.     D.  trljida.    Moench. 

A  bush  from  two  to  four  feet  high,  with  a  root  somewhat  creep- 
ing and  horizontal,  throwing  up  erect  shoots.  A  projecting  ridge 
running  down  at  equal  distances  on  the  four  sides  of  the  stem, 
gives  it  a  somewhat  four-sided  appearance.  The  recent  shoots 
are  green  or  reddish  green,  with  the  projection  very  conspicuous 
between  the  leaves.  The  stem  is  gray.  The  leaves  are  oppo- 
site, on  short  footstalks,  ovate  or  oblong-ovate,  rounded  or  acute 


360        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

at  base,  beautifully  tapering,  acuminate,  and  serrate,  smooth 
above,  slightly  fringed  with  bent  hairs  on  the  margin,  and 
sometimes  a  little  hairy  on  the  veins  beneath.  The  flowers, 
which  are  yellow,  are  terminal,  or  in  the  axils  of  the  upper 
leaves;  usually  three  on  a  stalk,  of  which  the  middle  one  is 
commonly  sessile.  The  seed-vessel  is  very  long,  egg-shaped, 
with  a  long,  taper  point,  crowned  with  the  awl-shaped  segments 
of  the  calyx.  A  variety  occurs  with  the  leaves  narrower  and 
thicker,  much  smaller,  and  constantly  acute  at  base. 


FAMILY  XIX.     THE   ELDER   FAMILY.     VIBURNEJE.     Bartling. 

Closely  allied  to  the  Honeysuckle  Family,  with  which  it 
has,  until  recently,  been  united,  this  small  family,  embracing 
about  eighty  species,  found,  generally,  in  the  temperate  regions 
of  the  northern  hemisphere,  is  strikingly  distinguished  by  its 
habit  and  mode  of  flowering.  Many  of  the  species  have  beauti- 
ful flowers  and  foliage,  and  are  favorites  in  ornamental  gardens. 
The  snow-ball,  so  great  a  favorite  in  many  countries  of  Europe 
and  in  this,  is  a  sterile  variety  of  Viburnum  opulus.  The  fruits 
are,  generally,  acid  or  astringent,  sometimes  purgative.  The 
sweet  flowers  of  the  common  elder,  both  of  Europe  and  of  this 
country,  are  sudorific,  and  the  European  species  has  been  used 
as  such  from  ancient  times.  They  are  packed  in  casks,  by  the 
French,  with  fruit,  to  give  it  an  agreeable  odor.  Elder-berry 
rob,  and  wine,  have  long  enjoyed,  in  England,  an  apparently 
well  deserved  reputation.  The  leaves  and  inner  bark  of  these 
same  elders  are  offensive,  and  have  emetic  and  particularly 
purgative  qualities  in  a  powerful  degree.  The  fruit  of  some 
species  of  Viburnum  are  austere  and  astringent ;  of  others,  not 
unpleasant  to  the  taste,  and  capable  of  forming  an  article  of 
food.  The  Wayfaring  Tree,  the  Guelder  Rose,  and  the  Laurus- 
tinus,  all  species  of  Viburnum,  are  ancient  favorites  in  England 
and  other  parts  of  Europe ;  the  latter  for  the  precious  property 
of  flowering,  in  warm  countries,  through  the  winter. 


XIX.     1.  THE  PANICLED  ELDER.  361 

The  plants  of  this  family  are  shrubs  or  small  trees,  with  ap- 
parently articulated  branches  and  young  stems  containing  pith 
of  extraordinary  thickness  and  durability ;  simple  or  com- 
pound, opposite  leaves ;  perfect  and  regular  flowers  in  broad, 
terminal  cymes;  a  five-cleft,  persistent  calyx,  adhering  almost 
throughout  to  the  ovary ;  a  flve-lobed  bell-  or  wheel-shaped 
corolla,  with  lobes  alternate  with  the  parts  of  the  calyx;  five 
stamens  inserted  in  the  tube  of  the  corolla  and  alternate  with 
its  lobes  ;  an  ovary  with  one,  three,  or  five  cells,  and  an  ovule 
in  each ;  and  a  fruit,  which  is  a  pulpy  or  fleshy  drupe,  with 
one  or  three,  one-celled,  one-seeded  nuts. 

Two  genera,  the  Elder  and  Viburnum  are  found  here,  flower- 
ing shrubs  or  low  trees,  very  widely  diffused  in  distant  regions 
of  the  northern  temperate  zone  ;  and,  in  New  England,  the  con- 
spicuous ornaments  of  the  borders  of  fields  and  woods  and  the 
sides  of  enclosures,  in  the  early  part  of  summer. 

The  Elder  has  compound  leaves  and  a  pulpy  fruit  with  three 
nuts ;  the  Viburnum  has  simple  leaves  and  a  fleshy  fruit  with 
one  nut. 

XIX.    1.     THE  ELDER.     SAMBUCUS.     Tournefort. 

A  genus  of  about  twenty  species  of  shrubs  or  perennial  herbs, 
with  a  penetrating  odor.  Leaves  opposite,  pinnate,  with  the 
leaflets  serrate,  cut  or  laciniate,  with  two  stipules  or  glands  at 
the  base  of  each.  Flowers  white  or  somewhat  flesh-colored, 
usually  fragrant,  in  compound  cymes.  There  are  two  species 
in  this  State. 

Sp.  1.     The  Panicled  Elder.     >S'.  pubens.     Michaux. 

This  is  usually  a  coarse-looking  bush,  four  to  six  feet  high, 
with  a  large,  whitish  stalk,  becoming  brown  when  old,  dotted 
with  rusty,  oblong  dots,  which  enlarge  and  give  a  rough  and 
warty  appearance  to  the  older  and  darker  part  of  the  stem. 

The  leaves  are  opposite,  on  large,  round,  fleshy  footstalks, 
channelled  above.  The  leaflets  are  five  or  seven,  ovate-lance- 
shaped,  rounded  or  acute,  sometimes  heart-shaped  at  base, 
47 


362        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tapering  to  a  long  point,  serrate,  of  a  dull,  dark  green  above 
whitish  pubescent  beneath. 

The  common  flower-stalk  is  stout,  long,  and  channelled,  bear- 
ing a  cyme  of  several  pairs  of  alternating  opposite,  horizontal 
stalks,  repeatedly  dividing  by  twos  or  threes,  at  as  large  an 
angle  as  possible,  so  as  to  form  a  pyramidal  head  or  thyrsus, 
two  or  three  inches  long.  At  the  fifth  division,  are  the  flowers 
in  pairs  or  threes,  on  short  stems.  The  fruit,  which  is  ripe  in 
June  and  July,  is  a  round,  scarlet  berry,  surmounted  by  the 
three  stigmas  and  the  five  obtuse  segments  of  the  calyx,  and 
containing  a  yellowish,  unpleasantly  tasted,  liquid  pulp,  and 
three  stones  or  nuts.  The  variety  with  seven  leaflets,  more 
uncommon,  has  its  leaflets  nearly  sessile,  and  is  usually  a  much 
taller  plant. 

Drs.  Torrey  and  Gray  mention  a  variety  found  in  the  Catskill 
Mountains,  with  white  berries.  They  have  sometimes  found 
the  plant  a  small  tree,  eighteen  feet  high.  The  common  variety 
is  found  in  Worcester  County,  in  the  towns  on  every  side  of 
the  Wachusett  Mountain. 

Sp.  2.     The  Common  Elder.     &  Canadensis.     L. 

Found  in  every  part  of  the  State  and  throughout  Canada  and 
the  United  States.  It  is  a  shrub,  eight  to  ten  feet  high,  growing 
in  wet  ground,  and  conspicuous  in  June  and  July  for  its  broad 
cymes  of  white  flowers.  The  leaf-stalks,  flower-stalks  and 
leaves  are  much  smaller  than  in  the  preceding  species.  The 
stem  is  covered  with  a  grayish  bark,  marked  with  prominent 
dots  of  the  same  color.     Recent  shoots  smooth  and  green. 

Leaves  opposite,  compound,  with  a  smooth  stalk,  channelled 
above.  Leaflets  from  five  to  eleven,  on  short  stalks,  oblong, 
ovate  or  obovate  or  elliptic,  round  at  base,  tapering  to  a  long, 
acute  point,  serrate  with  large,  hooked  serratures,  paler  be- 
neath, nearly  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  when  the  fruit  is  mature, 
downy  beneath  when  young. 

Flowers  white,  in  broad  cymes  five  to  seven  inches  across, 
on  long,  channelled,  tapering  stalks,  divided  and  subdivided  by 


XIX.     2.  THE  GUELDER  ROSE.  363 

fives.  Pedicel  a  slender,  white  thread,  ending  in  a  short  calyx 
with  five  acute  segments.  Corolla  a  very  short  tube  with  five 
ovate,  rounded  divisions.  Stamens  five,  short,  attached  to  the 
corolla  and  alternating  with  its  segments.  Stigmas  five,  brown, 
sessile,  on  a  conical  ovary.  The  lower  leaflets  have  often  one 
or  two  leaf-like  appendages.  The  berries  are  small,  dark  pur- 
ple, or  nearly  black,  when  ripe,  with  crimson  juice.  This  plant 
has  a  near  resemblance  to  the  Common  Elder  of  Europe,  S. 
nigra,  except  that  the  latter  is  a  tree  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in 
height.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  said  of  this,  that  the  English  "uncer- 
tain summer  is  established  by  the  time  the  elder  is  in  full  flower, 
and  is  entirely  gone  when  its  berries  are  ripe."  The  same 
might  be  said  with  equal  truth  of  our  elder,  which,  like  that, 
flowers  in  June  and  ripens  its  fruit  in  September ;  unless  we 
take  into  consideration  that  transient  return  of  soft  weather 
and  sunshine,  called  the  Indian  summer.  Much  use  has  always 
been  made,  in  every  part  of  Europe,  of  the  medicinal  and  eco- 
nomical virtues  of  their  elder.  The  same  may  be  made  of  ours. 
An  infusion  of  the  juice  of  the  berry  is  a  delicate  test  for  acids 
and  alkalies.*  An  infusion  of  the  bruised  leaves  is  used  by 
gardeners  to  expel  insects  from  vines.  A  wholesome,  sudorific 
tea  is  made  of  the  flowers.  The  unopened  flower-buds  form, 
when  pickled,  an  excellent  substitute  for  capers.  The  abund- 
ant pith  is  the  best  substance  for  the  pith-balls  used  in  electrical 
experiments  ;  and  the  hollow  shoots  are  in  great  use  with  boys 
for  pop-guns  and  fifes. 

XIX.     2.     THE  GUELDER  ROSE.     VIBURNUM.     L. 

A  genus  of  more  than  fifty  species  of  shrubs  or  small  trees, 
with  opposite  branches,  often  more  or  less  distinctly  angular ; 
opposite,  undivided,  or  lobed  leaves,  with  footstalks ;  and  white 
flowers  in  terminal  cymes,  those  of  the  margin  sometimes  sterile 
and  with  the  corolla  much  enlarged. 

*  See  Annals  of  the  Lyceum  of  New  York,  p.  42. 


364       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Section  First. — Flowers  all  similar  and  fertile. 
Sp.  1.     The   Naked  Viburnum.     Withe  Rod.      V.  nudum.     L. 

A  slender,  erect  shrub,  from  six  to  twelve  feet  high,  growing 
in  swamps  and  wet  woods  from  Newfoundland  to  Georgia. 
The  recent  shoots  are  dark  green,  with  numerous  minute,  rust- 
colored  scales.  The  older  stems  are  covered  with  a  light  ash- 
colored  bark.  The  fruit-stalks,  leaf-stalks,  under  surface  of 
the  leaves,  and  the  mid-rib  somewhat  above,  are  sprinkled  with 
brown,  rusty  dots,  or  scales.  The  leaves  are  opposite,  two  or 
three  inches  long,  very  variable  in  width,  on  short,  flattened 
petioles  which  nearly  or  quite  embrace  the  smaller  branches, 
varying  from  broad-lanceolate  to  oval-elliptic,  obovate  and 
sometimes  rhomboidal,  the  extreme  ones  more  or  less  atten- 
uated at  both  extremities,  the  lower  ones  obtuse  at  each  end, 
entire,  obsoletely  serrate  or  crenate,  coriaceous,  smooth  and 
shining  above,  beneath  dotted  with  rusty  brown  scales.  Foot- 
stalks rather  long,  channelled,  and  slightly  winged. 

The  flowers  are  white,  or  yellowish  white,  in  terminal  cymes, 
on  a  footstalk  half  an  inch  to  two  inches  long.  The  branches, 
radiating  from  a  single  point,  are  flattened,  channelled  and  an- 
gular, and  much  sub-divided,  with  linear,  fugacious  bracts  at 
the  base  of  the  pedicels.  Flowers  crowded ;  the  calyx  ending  in 
five,  thin,  membranous,  white,  obtuse  teeth ;  the  corolla  small, 
cup-shaped,  with  obtuse  segments.  Filaments  very  long;  an- 
thers small,  yeltow.     The  flowers  expand  in  May  and  June. 

The  fruit  is  apple-shaped,  compressed,  with  the  minute  calyx 
in  the  terminal  cavity,  one  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  of  a  deep  blue 
color,  and  with  a  glaucous  bloom;  it  is  ripe  in  September.  It 
has  a  sweetish  taste  and  may  be  eaten.  The  stone  is  flattish, 
with  an  obtuse  point,  slightly  hollowed  on  one  side  and  convex 
on  the  other.  The  slender,  tough  rods  of  the  previous  year  are 
much  used,  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  to  bind  sheaves. 

Sp.  2.     The  Sweet  Viburnum.      V.  lentago.     L. 

A  beautiful,  small  tree,  rising  sometimes  to  the  height  of  fif- 
teen or  twenty  feet,  with  rich  foliage,  and  clothed,  in  June,  with 


XIX.     2.  THE  SWEET  VIBURNUM.  365 

a  profusion  of  delicate,  showy  flowers.  The  branches  and  re- 
cent shoots  are  of  a  grayish  brown,  dotted,  and  often  with  a 
scaly  or  dusty  surface.  The  smaller  stems  and  larger  branches 
are  of  a  dark  purple,  almost  black.  The  branches  are  opposite, 
at  large  angles.  The  leaves  are  broad  oval,  or  lance-ovate, 
acute,  rounded  or  sometimes  heart-shaped  at  base,  acuminate, 
sharply  serrate,  smooth  above,  paler  or  ferruginous  beneath ; 
the  footstalk  is  rather  long,  channelled  above,  conspicuously 
margined  with  an  irregular,  waved  or  glandular  border.  The 
leaf-stalk,  fruit-stalk,  under  surface  of  the  leaf  and  the  mid -rib 
above  are  set  with  ferruginous,  glandular  dots  or  scales.  The 
leaves  are  often  half  bent  backwards. 

The  flowers  are  in  terminal  cymes,  sessile  in  the  axil  of  a 
pair  of  leaves  or  branches.  Five  or  more  stalks  spring  nearly 
from  one  centre,  and  diverging  an  inch  or  more,  divide  repeat- 
edly into  three  or  more  shorter  branches,  at  the  base  of  which 
is  often  visible  a  minute  linear  bract.  The  pedicels  are  very 
short,  terminating  in  a  round  ovary,  surmounted  by  a  calyx  of 
five  minute  segments,  above  which  rests  a  salver-shaped  corolla 
of  one  petal,  expanding  with  five  oval,  rounded,  reflexed  seg- 
ments of  pure  white.  From  the  angles  of  these  segments  rise 
the  five  stamens,  with  slender,  tapering  filaments,  longer  than 
the  corolla,  and  bearing  on  their  point  a  short,  yellow  anther. 

The  great  number  of  the  anthers,  in  a  head  of  flowers,  gives 
a  yellow  tinge  to  the  whole,  and  a  very  agreeable  fragrance  is 
diffused;  amidst  the  flowers  are  often  seen  the  leaves  rising. 
The  fruit  is  large,  often  half  an  inch  or  more  long,  on  stout 
stems,  oblong,  flattened,  and,  when  ripe  in  October,  turns  from 
a  rich  scarlet  to  a  shining  blue  black,  covered  with  a  glaucous 
bloom  and  crowned  with  the  permanent  calyx-segments,  sur- 
rounding the  stigma.  It  is  not  unpleasant  to  the  taste.  The 
nut  is  oblong-oval,  flattened,  with  an  obtuse  point,  and  grooved 
on  both  sides.  The  sweet  viburnum  is  found  from  Canada  to 
the  mountains  of  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

There  is  a  softness  and  richness  about  the  flowers  and  foliage 
of  the  sweet  viburnum,  which  distinguish  it  above  all  others  of 
the  same  genus. 

Tt  is  hardly  less  beautiful  in  fruit,  from  the  profusion  of  the 


366        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

rich  blue  berries  hanging  down  among  the  curled  leaves,  which 
are  beginning  to  assume  the  beautiful  hues  of  autumn.  A  tree 
of  this  kind  makes  a  fine  appearance  at  the  angle  of  a  walk, 
or  in  the  corner  of  a  garden,  as  its  delicacy  invites  a  near  ap- 
proach and  rewards  examination.  With  this  delicacy  of  ap- 
pearance, it  is  a  hardy  plant,  and  may,  sometimes,  be  seen  on 
a  bleak  hill-side,  where  it  has  encountered  the  northwest, 
stormy  winds,  for  a  score  of  years. 

Sp.  3.     The  Arrow  Wood.      V.  dentatum.    L. 

An  erect  shrub  or  small  tree,  four  to  fifteen  feet  high,  growing 
in  every  part  of  the  State,  and  from  Canada  to  Louisiana,  in 
swamps  and  wet  grounds,  remarkable  for  the  yellowish  green 
color  and  the  large  teeth  of  the  leaves.  The  old  stems  are  near- 
ly black,  and,  from'  the  damp  places  in  which  the  plant  grows, 
are  often  covered  with  thin,  whitish  lichens.  The  recent  shoots 
are  yellowish  green,  smooth  and  obscurely  four -angled,  with  a 
few  brownish  dots.  The  stem  in  young  plants  is  grayish  pur- 
ple above,  darker  below.  The  branches  are  opposite,  at  rather 
sharp  angles.  The  leaves  are  opposite,  often  reflexed,  on  red- 
dish green,  channelled  footstalks,  which  are  half  an  inch  or  an 
inch  in  length.  They  are  broad-ovate,  or  inversely  egg-shaped, 
on  the  flowering  branches  nearly  orbicular,  on  the  growing 
shoots  much  longer,  rounded  or  heart-shaped  at  base,  pointed 
or  acuminate  at  the  extremity,  conspicuously  toothed,  the  teeth 
ending  in  a  rather  blunt  point,  yellowish  green  and  shining 
above,  lighter  beneath,  with  strongly  prominent  veins,  downy 
at  the  axils.     In  October,  they  become  of  a  dark  crimson. 

The  flowers  are  white,  in  terminal  cymes,  nearly  flat  above, 
on  grooved,  obscurely  four-angled  footstalks,  enlarging  upwards, 
and  two  or  three  inches  long;  from  three  to  seven,  angled, 
light  yellowish-green  branches,  radiating  from  a  common  point 
on  the  central  stalk,  and  afterwards  branching  somewhat  irreg- 
ularly. The  ultimate  flower  stalk  very  short.  Calyx  ending 
in  minute,  white  teeth.  Corolla  in  one  piece  of  five,  expanding, 
rounded  petals,  with  erect  or  diverging  stamens  at  the  angles 
within.  Styles  short,  white.  The  fruit  is  of  a  dark  lead  color, 
when  ripe,  roundish-oval,  crowned  by  the  five  brown,  crushed 


XIX.     2.  THE  ARROW  WOOD.  367 

teeth  of  the  calyx,  surrounding  the  triple  or  apparently  single 
stigma. 

The  young  shoots  of  this  tree  are  said  by  Marshall,  {Arbus- 
trum,  p.  160,)  to  have  been  generally  used  by  the  natives  for 
arrows,  whence  it  is  known  by  the  name  of  arrow  wood. 

Sp.  4.     The  Maple  Leaved  Arrow  Wood.     V.  accrifblium.    L. 

A  slender,  low  shrub,  not  often  more  than  five  or  six  feet 
high,  remarkable  for  the  resemblance  of  its  leaves  to  those  of 
the  red  maple.  It  is  found  in  rocky  woods  throughout  the 
State,  and  from  Canada  to  the  country  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
The  stem  is  erect,  with  a  brownish  bark,  and  very  infrequent 
wart-like,  whitish  dots.  Recent  shoots  of  a  lighter  brown  or 
pale  green,  and  with  the  leaf-stalks  and  flower-slalks  downy 
and  scattered  with  hairs.  Branches  opposite,  ascending  at  a 
sharp  angle.  Leaves  opposite,  from  two  to  four  inches  long, 
and  of  nearly  equal  breadth,  rounded  or  heart-shaped  at  base, 
three-lobed,  with  large,  irregular  teeth,  waved,  smooth  or  some- 
what hairy,  and  impressed  at  the  veins  above;  lighter  and 
downy,  and  hairy,  particularly  on  the  veins  and  veinlets  be- 
neath; the  lobes  diverging,  separated  by  abroad,  shallow  notch, 
and  ending  in  a  prolonged,  often  bluntish  point.  The  leaf- 
stalks appressed  and  swelling  at  base,  round,  one  inch  or  less  in 
length,  with  scattered  hairs  and  somewhat  downy,  and  with 
colored,  linear,  pointed  stipules  at  base,  or  assuming  the  form 
of  glands  higher  up.  The  terminal  leaves  are  often  entire, 
without  lobes,  and  broad-ovate  or  roundish  in  shape. 

The  flowers  are  in  terminal  cymes,  on  round,  smooth,  or 
slightly  pubescent  stalks,  gradually  enlarging,  and  about  two 
inches  long,  with  two  linear,  perishing  bracts  at  the  end.  The 
partial  footstalks,  about  six  in  number,  radiate  from  one  point, 
and  repeatedly  and  somewhat  regularly  sub-dividing  by  threes 
or  twos,  terminate  in  pairs  of  very  short  flower-stems.  The 
flowers  are  tinted  with  pale  purple  before  opening.  The  calyx 
ends  in  five  small,  obtuse,  appressed,  colored  teeth.  The  corolla 
is  white,  cup-shaped,  with  five  ovate,  pointed  or  rounded,  re- 
flexed  segments.  Stamens  on  tapering  filaments,  twice  as  long 
as  the  corolla,  bearing  a  large,  short,  yellow  anther.     The  ber- 


368        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ries  are  oval,  a  third  of  an  inch  long,  pointed,  compressed,  oval, 
blue-black  when  ripe,  and  very  disagreeable  to  the  taste.  The 
nut  is  of  the  same  shape,  slightly  grooved. 

Section  Second. —  The  flowers  in  the  margin  of  the  cymes  much 
larger  than  the  others  and  sterile. 

Sp.  1 .    The  High  Cranberry.    Cranberry  Tree.    V.  opulus.    L. 

A  handsome,  low  tree,  five  to  ten  feet  high,  ornamented 
throughout  the  year  with  flowers  or  fruit.  In  May  or  early  in 
June,  it  spreads  open,  at  the  end  of  every  branch,  a  broad  cyme 
of  soft,  delicate  flowers,  surrounded  by  an  irregular  circle  of 
snow-white  stars,  scattered,  apparently,  for  show.  From  the 
common  axil  of  the  upper  pair  of  leaves,  a  stout,  furrowed 
footstalk,  one  or  two  inches  long,  separates  into  five,  six,  or 
more,  radiating  branches,  from  each  of  which,  after  successive 
similar  sub-divisions,  proceed  a  number  of  crowded  flowers, 
diverging,  on  short,  partial  footstalks,  from  a  single,  central 
point.  Each  perfect  flower  is  a  white  cup  of  a  single  piece, 
with  a  border  of  five  round  lobes,  sitting  in  a  green  calyx  with 
a  few  obsolete  teeth,  and  bearing,  from  its  base,  within,  five 
upright  stamens,  twice  as  long  as  itself,  which  support  whitish 
anthers,  opening  from  the  top.  The  germ  is  a  short,  white, 
conical  body,  terminating  in  two  or  three  minute  stigmas,  and 
seeming,  when  the  corolla  is  gone,  immediately  to  surmount  the 
calyx.  At  the  base  of  the  flower-stems  and  branches,  are  long, 
linear,  brown,  fugacious  bracts.  The  outer  florets  are  on  longer 
stalks,  barren,  salver-shaped,  of  five  larger,  unequal,  obovate, 
rounded  lobes. 

The  leaves  are  opposite,  from  two  to  five  inches  long,  straight, 
rounded  or  acute  at  base,  three-nerved,  and  with  three  very 
divergent,  acuminate  lobes,  and  large,  unequal,  obtuse  teeth, 
strongly  veined,  paler  beneath.  The  footstalks  are  three  fourths 
of  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  length,  with  one  or  two  glandular  sti- 
pules below,  and  a  few  glands  near  the  base  of  the  leaf  and 
towards  the  bottom,  the  lower  ones  hair-like. 

The  fruit,  which  is  red  when  ripe,  is  of  a  pleasant  acid  taste, 
resembling  cranberries,  for  which   it  is  sometimes  substituted. 


XIX.    2.  THE  WAYFARING  TREE.  369 

Drs.  Torrey  and  Gray  have  shown  that  there  is  no  essential 
difference  between  this  plant  and  the  European  Guelder  Rose, 
V.  opulus,  a  variety  of  which,  propagated  by  gardeners,  is  the 
well-known  Snow  Ball  Tree. 

Sp.  2.    The  Wayfaring  Tree.     Hobble  Bush.     V.  lantanbldes. 

Michaux. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  148. 

This  plant  received  its  specific  name,  lantanbides,  from  its 
resemblance  to  the  English  Wayfaring  tree,  V.  lantdna,  the  tree 
which  William  Howitt  addresses,  when  he  says, — 

"  Wayfaring  tree  !  what  ancient  claim 
Hast  thou  to  that  right  pleasant  name  ? 

*  #  #  #  # 

Whate'er  it  be,  I  love  it  well ; 
A  name,  methinks,  that  surely  fell 
From  poet,  in  some  evening  dell, 
Wandering  with  fancies  sweet." — Book  of  the  Seasons,  p.  115. 

That  tree  rises  to  the  height  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet,  and 
has  an  ample  head  of  white  flowers.  Ours,  less  fortunate  in  its 
name,  is  a  stout,  low  bush,  found  in  dark,  rocky  woods,  and 
making  a  show,  in  such  solitary  places,  of  a  broad  head  of 
flowers,  the  marginal  ones  often  an  inch  across.  It  has  large, 
opposite,  very  diverging  branches,  often  declining  to  the  ground, 
and  a  dark  brown  bark,  scattered  with  a  few  grayish,  wart-like 
dots.  The  recent  shoots,  flower-stalks  and  leaf-stalks  are  pro- 
fusely clothed  with  a  brown,  rusty  down,  which  gradually  dis- 
appears from  the  branches,  except  towards  the  joints. 

The  buds  come  out  in  threes,  of  which  the  middle  one  often 
contains  flowers  and  leaves,  the  side  ones  leaves  only.  They 
have  no  scales,  but  are,  instead,  clothed  with  a  close,  rusty 
tomentum,  which  gives  them  the  appearance  of  leather.  The 
leaves  are  from  four  to  six  inches  in  length  and  breadth.  The 
leaf-stalks  have  an  appendage  at  base,  which,  though  gradually 
shrivelling,  is  very  large  at  first,  forming  a  broad  wing  near  the 
base,  and  terminating  in  awl-shaped  points. 

The  leaves  are  roundish,  heart-shaped  at  base,  ending  in  a 
short,  abrupt  point,  and  unequally  serrate  on  the  margin.  They 
48 


370       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

are  nearly  smooth  above,  but  beneath,  downy  on  the  veins, 
which  are  thereby  rendered  strikingly  distinct.  The  primary 
veins,  which  are  prominent,  branch  only  on  the  lower  side,  and 
are  intersected  at  right  angles  by  the  parallel  secondary  veins, 
forming  a  beautiful  net-work. 

The  cymes  or  heads  of  flowers  radiate  from  two  or  more 
points,  the  partial  footstalks  having  at  their  base,  linear  or  strap- 
shaped,  leathery,  deciduous  bracts.  The  fruit  is  ovate,  large, 
of  bright  crimson  color,  turning  afterwards  almost  black.  The 
minute  calyx  occupies  the  terminal  cavity.  The  nut  is  oblong- 
oval,  with  an  obtuse  point,  flattened,  and  grooved  on  both  sides. 


FAMILY  XX.     THE  HEATH  FAMILY.     ERICA'  CEJE. 

Few  families  embrace  a  greater  variety  of  extremely  beautiful 
plants  than  this.  Few  are  so  universally  the  favorite  objects  of 
cultivation.  They  recommend  themselves  to  the  cultivator  by 
their  hardiness,  many  of  them  being  natives  of  this  or  of  similar 
climates,  by  their  showy  and  lasting  flowers,  and  often  by  their 
evergreen  leaves.  There  are  three,  very  distinct  sub-divisions 
of  the  family;  the  Heaths,  the  Rhododendrons,  and  the  Andro- 
medas.  The  Pyrolas  and  Monotropas,  still  more  distinct,  are 
by  some  authors  considered  as  forming  a  separate  family.  Of 
the  true  heaths,  we  have  no  native  species.  The  greater  part 
of  them  are  indigenous  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  whence  they 
have  been  most  extensively  introduced  into  the  conservatories 
of  Europe  and  America ;  a  few  are  natives  of  Europe.  Of  the 
other. allied  tribes  we  have  many  representatives  in  New  Eng- 
land. Distinguished  by  their  singular  beauty,  peculiar  ap- 
pearance, and  usually  their  social  or  gregarious  habits,  they 
are  found  in  all  climates  and  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  world, 
except  New  Holland,  in  which  their  place  is  taken  by  their 
near  allies,  the  Epacridese. 

The  plants  of  this  family  are  shrubs,  under  shrubs,  or  trees, 
with  leaves  mostly  entire,  coriaceous  and  sempervirent,  without 


XX.     1.  THE  ANDROMEDA.  371 

stipules.  The  flowers  are  usually  perfect,  symmetrical  and 
regular.  The  calyx  is  usually  four-  or  live-cleft;  the  corolla 
four-parted,  rarely  five-parted,  with  the  parts  alternate  with 
those  of  the  calyx;  the  stamens  are  as  many  as  the  segments 
of  the  corolla  and  alternate  with  them,  or  twice  as  many,  in- 
serted in  the  base  of  the  corolla,  or  in  the  edge  of  a  disk  at  the 
bottom  of  the  calyx ;  anthers  two-celled,  opening  by  a  terminal 
pore  or  cleft,  and  with  often  a  pointed  bristle  projecting  above 
or  below.  The  ovary  is  free,  with  cells  as  numerous  as  the 
segments  of  the  calyx  and  alternate  with  them,  and  many-seed- 
ed ;  or  rarely  one-celled.  The  fruit  is  capsular,  or  rarely  berry- 
like, and  generally  many-celled  and  many-seeded. 

In  their  properties,  they  are  almost  universally  more  or  less 
astringent  and  diuretic,  and  many  of  them  abound  in  tannin. 
But  the  different  tribes  have  different  properties.  The  heaths 
of  the  north  of  Europe  are  used  by  the  inhabitants  to  tan  leather, 
to  dye  yarn,  as  an  ingredient  in  beer,  and  as  a  material  for 
thatching ;  and  the  seeds  afford  food  to  many  kinds  of  birds. 
Most  of  the  plants  of  the  Rhododendron  group  are  of  a  doubtful 
character,  and  to  some  animals  several  of  them  are  poisonous. 
The  fleshy  berries  of  some  of  the  Andromeda  group  are  an 
agreeable  and  healthy  article  of  food.  Honey  made  by  bees 
that  feed  on  the  flowers  of  the  European  heaths  is  said  to  be  of 
an  inferior  quality,  and  that  from  bees  fed  on  some  species  of 
rhododendron  is  considered  poisonous.  The  pleasantly  acidu- 
lous berries  of  the  Strawberry  Tree,  A'rbutus  utiedo,  are  eaten  in 
the  south  of  Europe,  and  in  Corsica  an  agreeable  wine  is  pre- 
pared from  them.  Its  bark  is  very  astringent,  and,  in  Spain 
and  the  East,  is  employed  in  tanning. 

THE  ANDROMEDA  TRIBE.    ANDROME'DEJE.    Don. 

Shrubs  with  a  capsular  fruit  and  deciduous  corolla. 

XX.  1.  THE  ANDROMEDA.  ANDRO'MEDA.     L. 

Humble  shrubs,  found  in  North  America  and  also  in  northern 
Asia  and  Europe ;  with  a  five-cleft  calyx,  with  acute  segments, 
simple  at  base  ;  a  globose  corolla  with  a  contracted  mouth  ;  and 
ten  included  anthers  with  bearded  filaments,  and  short,  one- 
awned  anthers. 


372       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


The  Water  Andromeda.     A.  polifblia.     L. 

It  was  for  this  modest  and  delicate  plant,  which  is  a  native 
of  the  north  of  Europe  as  well  as  of  this  country,  that  Lin- 
nseus  selected  tiie  poetical  name  of  the  genus.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  account  which  himself  gives  of  it  in  his  "  Tour  in 
Lapland,"  I,  188.  "Andromeda  polifolia  was  now  (June  12,) 
in  its  highest  beauty,  decorating  the  marshy  grounds  in  a  most 
agreeable  manner.  The  flowers  are  quite  blood-red  before 
they  expand ;  but,  when  full  grown,  the  corolla  is  of  a  flesh- 
color.  Scarcely  any  painter's  art  can  so  happily  imitate  the 
beauty  of  a  fine  female  complexion;  still  less  could  any  arti- 
ficial color  upon  the  face  itself  bear  a  comparison  with  this 
lovely  blossom.  As  I  contemplated  it,  I  could  not  help  think- 
ing of  Andromeda,  as  described  by  the  poets ;  and  the  more  I 
meditated  upon  their  descriptions,  the  more  applicable  they 
seemed  to  the  little  plant  before  me ;  so  that,  if  these  writers 
had  it  in  view,  they  could  scarcely  have  contrived  a  more  appo- 
site fable.  Andromeda  is  represented  by  them  as  a  virgin  of 
most  exquisite  and  unrivalled  charms;  but  these  charms  remain 
in  perfection  only  so  long  as  she  retains  her  virgin  purity,  which, 
is  also  applicable  to  the  plant  now  preparing  to  celebrate  its 
nuptials.  This  plant  is  always  fixed  on  some  little  turfy  hillock 
in  the  midst  of  the  swamps,  as  Andromeda  herself  was  chained 
to  a  rock  in  the  sea,  which  bathed  her  feet,  as  the  fresh  water- 
does  the  roots  of  this  plant.  Dragons  and  venomous  serpents 
surrounded  her,  as  toads  and  other  reptiles  frequent  the  abode 
of  her  vegetable  resembler,  and,  when  they  pair  in  the  spring, 
throw  mud  and  water  over  its  leaves  and  branches.  As  the 
distressed  virgin  cast  down  her  blushing  face  through  excessive 
affliction,  so  does  this  rosy -colored  flower  hang  its  head,  grow- 
ing paler  and  paler  till  it  withers  away."  "  At  length,  comes 
Perseus,  in  the  shape  of  summer,  dries  up  the  surrounding 
water,  and  destroys  the  monsters,  rendering  the  damsel  a  fruit- 
ful mother,  who  then  carries  her  head  (the  capsule)  erect." 

This,  as  it  is  found  here,  is  a  low  shrub,  a  foot  or  more  in 
height,  growing  naturally  in  boggy  places,  but  capable  of  being 
successfully  cultivated  in  any  common,  moist  soil.     The  stem 


XX.    2.  THE  DWARF  CASSANDRA.  373 

is  clothed  with  a  grayish  bark,  with  a  few  short  leafy  branches 
near  the  top,  and  with  umbels  of  drooping,  snow-white  or  flesh- 
colored  flowers  at  or  near  the  end.  The  branches  are  slender, 
and  covered  with  a  pearly,  sometimes  reddish  bark.  The  leaves 
are  on  short  petioles,  narrow,  lanceolate,  much  revolute  at  the 
edges,  pointed,  glossy  green  above,  of  a  pure  glaucous  or  whit- 
ish color  beneath.  The  short,  pearl-white  flower-stems  spring 
from  the  bosom  of  ovate,  concave,  pointed  bracts  of  the  same 
color.  The  short,  acute,  persistent  segments  of  the  calyx  are 
white,  tipped  with  red.  The  corolla  is  five-angled,  nearly  glob- 
ular, almost  closing  at  the  mouth,  with  the  obtuse  segments 
revolute.  A  faint,  rosy  tinge  is  often  spread  over  the  whole 
flower.  The  stamens  are  very  short,  with  brown  anthers, 
which  open  in  two  terminal  pores,  and  are  tipped  with  short, 
awl-like  bristles.  The  round  ovary  terminates  in  a  club-shaped 
stigma.  Flowers  in  June.  It  is  found  on  the  edge  of  Richards' 
Pond,  in  Brookline ;  on  tussocks  in  a  bog  in  Richmond,  and 
elsewhere.  This  plant,  like  others  of  its  kind,  may  be  prop- 
agated by  dividing  the  root  or  by  layers. 

Several  other  species,  which  had  been  included  in  the  genus 
Andromeda,  have  been  elevated  by  Don  into  new  genera; 
A.  calyculata  to  Cassandra ;  A.  paniculata  to  Lyonia  ;  and 
A.  racembsa  to  Zenobia.  Their  great  difference  in  habit  and 
appearance  seems  to  authorize  a  change  made  on  botanical 
grounds. 

XX.     2.     THE  CASSANDRA.     CASSANDRA.     Don. 

A  genus  of  two  species  of  low  shrubs,  covered  with  a  fine  pu- 
bescence, which  makes  them  look  as  if  sprinkled  with  dust. 
The  leaves  are  leathery  and  persistent ;  flowers  white.  The 
calyx  is  five-leaved,  with  two  bracts  at  base  ;  the  corolla  oblong, 
enclosing  ten  stamens,  with  anthers  which  terminate  in  tubes. 
Both  species  are  cultivated  in  Europe  for  their  beauty. 

The  Dwarf  Cassandra.     C.  calyculata.     D.  Don. 

A  low,  leafy,  evergreen  shrub,  from  two  to  five  feet  high. 
The  bark  on  the  principal  stem  and  larger  branches  is  very 


374        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

smooth,  and  of  a  remarkably  dark  copper  color.  The  recent 
shoots  are  covered  with  a  close,  brownish  down,  which  is  not 
entirely  removed  till  the  end  of  three  or  four  years. 

The  leaves  are  alternate,  on  very  short  petioles,  oblong-lance- 
olate, often  larger  towards  the  extremity,  rather  obtuse,  obso- 
letely  serrate  and  somewhat  revolute  at  the  margin,  shining 
above  and  dotted  with  scaly  dots,  which  beneath  are  rust- 
colored. 

The  flowers  are  in  racemes,  on  the  ends  of  the  branches,  in 
the  axil  of  last  year's  leaves.  These  leaves  are  much  smaller 
than  those  not  supporting  flowers,  and  are  formed  later  in  the 
previous  season.  They  diminish  in  size  to  the  extremity  of  the 
branch,  where  they  are  only  two  or  three  lines  long. 

The  flower-stalks  are  short  and  stout,  and,  at  the  time  of  fruit, 
are  arranged  in  two  rows.  Just  below  the  calyx  are  two  very 
short,  rounded,  acuminate  bracts.  The  segments  of  the  calyx 
are  five,  pointed,  with  a  membranous  border,  coriaceous,  per- 
sistent, and  protecting  the  fruit,  and  closely  covered  with  white 
scales. 

Corolla  white,  egg-shaped,  somewhat  five-sided,  contracted 
towards  the  mouth,  ending  in  five  slightly  reflexed,  rounded, 
brownish  teeth,  between  which  the  point  of  the  pistil  shows 
itself.  Stamens  ten,  opening  from  the  base  of  the  corolla ; 
filament  ribbon-shaped,  white  below,  gradually  tapering  to  a 
brownish  thread.  Pistil  persistent,  tapering,  gradually  dying 
down  to  the  capsule.  Fruit  a  capsule,  round,  flattened,  opening 
late  by  five  valves,  two-coated,  the  external,  dark,  coriaceous, 
the  internal,  whitish  yellow,  and  remaining  on  the  branches 
until  the  appearance  of  the  flowers  of  the  succeeding  spring. 
Anthers  brown,  of  two  long,  conical  tubes,  opening  at  the  point. 
It  forms  large  beds  in  the  edge  of  swamps  or  boggy  meadows, 
where  it  opens  its  abundant  and  showy  racemes  in  April,  among 
the  earliest  flowers  of  spring. 

XX.     3.     THE  LYOvNIA.     LYO^NIA.     Nuttall. 

A  genus  so  named  by  Mr.  Nuttall  to  commemorate  the  name 
of  John  Lyon,  an  indefatigable  collector  of  North  American 
plants,  who  fell  victim  to  a  dangerous  epidemic,  amidst  those 


XX.     4.  ZENOBIA.  375 

savage  and  romantic  mountains,  which  had  so  often  been  the 
theatre  of  his  labors. — Niitlatt,  Genera  I,  266. 

It  consists  of  a  few  North  American  shrubs,  with  entire  or 
denticulate,  membranous  or  downy  leaves,  and  rose-colored  or 
white  flowers  in  lateral  or  terminal  panicles:  distinguished 
from  the  preceding  by  having  the  anthers  opening  lengthwise, 
and  by  their  five-angled,  five-celled  capsules,  with  five  valves 
having  their  margins  closed  by  five  other,  external,  narrow 
valves. 

The  Panicled  Lyonia.     L.  paniculaia.     L. 

A  bushy  shrub  from  three  to  eight  feet  high,  conspicuous  in  the 
early  part  of  summer  for  its  long  and  crowded  panicles  of  white 
flowers,  and  afterwards  for  its  persistent,  five-cleft  seed-vessels. 
The  root  is  strong  and  tough.  Its  stem  and  irregular  branches 
are  covered  with  a  light  pearly,  ash-colored,  stringy  bark,  which 
on  the  last  year's  shoots  is  reddish,  and  on  the  recent  shoots  light 
green,  and  often  downy.  The  leaves  are  in  bunches,  or  alter- 
nate, on  short,  appressed  stalks,  lance-shaped,  elliptic  or  in- 
versely egg-shaped,  entire,  or  minutely  serrate,  acute  or  acumi- 
nate at  each  end,  smooth  above,  lighter  and  downy  beneath. 

Flowers  in  an  irregular,  terminal,  compound  panicle,  with 
small  leaves  at  the  base  of  the  branches,  and  linear,  brown, 
very  fugacious  bracts;  partial  footstalks,  thread-like,  downy. 
Calyx  greenish,  of  five  teeth,  scarcely  distinguishable  by  the 
eye  from  the  corolla  to  which  it  closely  adheres.  Corolla  white, 
nearly  globose,  with  five  minute,  reflected  teeth  almost  closing 
the  orifice.  Anthers  with  doubly  curved  filaments,  bringing 
the  anthers  round  the  base  of  the  pistil,  which  is  nearly  as  long 
as  the  corolla. 

Lyonia  mariana, — Andromeda  mariana  of  our  botanists,  an- 
other beautiful  plant,  is  found  in  Rhode  Island,  and  probably 
will  be  in  Massachusetts. 

XX.     4.     THE  ZENOBIA.     ZENOBIA.     D.  Don. 

North  American,  evergreen  shrubs,  bearing  racemed  flowers, 
with  a  five-lobed  calyx  and  bell-shaped  corolla,  with  ten  sta- 


376        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

mens,  whose  anthers  have  long,  tubular  cells,  ending  in  two 
awns. 

The  Clustered  Zenobia.     Z.  racetnbsa.     De  Candolle. 

A  low  shrub,  four  to  six  feet  high,  with  irregular,  straggling 
branches,  much  resembling  the  whortleberry  bushes.  Leaves 
on  very  short  petioles,  broad-lanceolate  or  oval,  acute  at  each 
extremity,  serrulate,  of  nearly  the  same  color  on  both  surfaces, 
somewhat  downy  on  the  veins  beneath.  Flowers  in  regular 
racemes,  one  to  three,  or  four  inches  long,  on  the  ends  of  the 
floral  branches,  and  usually  protected  by  the  leaves ;  they  are 
all  turned  downwards  and  have  been  likened  to  rows  of  teeth. 
Partial  flower -stalk  very  short,  with  two  small,  colored  bracts 
at  base.  Calyx  of  five  lanceolate,  pointed,  greenish  or  brownish 
white  segments,  embracing  the  corolla,  and,  after  that  is  fallen, 
closely  adhering  to  the  ovary. 

Corolla  oblong-cylindrical,  contracted  at  the  mouth,  semi- 
transparent  at  the  line  of  the  segments,  which  are  rounded  and 
diverging  or  revolute  at  the  extremity.  Filaments  dilated  at 
base,  short,  white,  tapering  to  a  brown  point,  supporting  the 
brown  anthers,  which  are  cleft,  each  division  having  two  awns. 
Style  exserted.  The  ovary  becomes  a  dry,  globular  capsule, 
which  opens  in  five  recurved  valves,  surrounded  by  the  persist- 
ent calyx  and  bracts,  and  remaining  usually  till  the  flowers  of 
the  next  year  appear. 

This  is  a  beautiful  but  much  neglected  plant.  Few  exotics 
have  such  elegance  of  appearance.  Few  are  so  little  known. 
This,  like  the  plants  of  the  previous  genera,  may  be  easily  cul- 
tivated. They  require  a  peat  soil  or  sandy  loam.  Don  says 
of  them,  "  Being  very  ornamental,  they  are  desirable  shrubs  in 
every  garden.  They  are  propagated  by  layers  or  by  seeds. 
The  seeds  should  be  sown  in  pots  or  in  pans,  in  sandy  peat  soil ; 
they  should  be  covered  slightly  with  earth,  as  they  are  ex- 
tremely small." — Gen.  Sys.,  Ill,  831. 

.  Oxydendrum  arbbreum,  Andromeda  arlbrea  of  American  bot- 
anists, is  a  handsome,  small  tree,  belonging  to  this  group,  which 
might  be  easily  introduced  here,  as  it  grows  freely  a  little  far- 
ther south. 


XX.  5.      THE  ALDER  LEAVED  CLETHRA.      377 

XX.  5.  THE  CLETHRA.  CLE^THRA.     L. 

The  name  is  the  Greek  word  for  the  alder,  which  the  plants 
of  this  genus  resemble  in  their  leaves.  They  are  mostly  Amer- 
ican shrubs  with  alternate,  deciduous  leaves,  and  white,  bract- 
eate  flowers  in  axillary  or  terminal  spikes.  The  calyx  is  five- 
parted,  persistent;  corolla  so  deeply  five-parted  as  to  appear 
five-petalled ;  stamens  ten,  with  pointed  anthers ;  capsule  en- 
closed by  the  calyx,  with  three,  many-seeded  cells,  which  open 
in  the  middle. 

The  Alder  Leaved  Clethra.     C.  alnifolia.     L. 
Poorly  figured  in  Catesby's  Carolina,  I,  66. 

A  shrub  from  two  to  eight  feet  high,  showing  a  long  spike  of 
white,  fragrant  flowers  towards  the  end  of  summer,  when  most 
other  shrubs  have  long  cast  their  blossoms.  It  grows  naturally 
and  abundantly  by  slow  streams,  or  in  islets  in  deep  bogs,  where 
it  can,  at  most  seasons,  bathe  its  feet  in  water. 

The  flower-stem  is  of  a  whitish  green  and  downy,  below 
which  the  shoot  is  of  a  faint  reddish  color,  covered  with  a  gray 
down.  The  stem  at  last  becomes  dark  purple,  striate  with  gray. 
The  leaves  are  inversely  egg-shaped,  gradually  tapering  at  base 
to  a  short,  downy  footstalk,  pointed,  and  serrated  with  pointed 
serratures  from  below  the  middle  to  the  extremity,  smooth, 
downy  on  the  mid-rib  above,  a  little  hairy  on  the  mid-rib  and 
primary  veins  beneath.  Flowers  in  long  racemes,  terminal,  or 
from  the  axils  of  the  upper  leaves.  Cup  of  five  short,  hollow, 
ovate,  pointed,  white,  downy  segments,  which  are  persistent, 
and,  after  the  fall  of  the  corolla,  close  round  and  protect  the 
ovary.  Petals  apparently  five,  oblong,  concave,  rounded  at  the 
extremity,  twice  as  long  as  the  calyx,  white  with  lines  of  green. 
Stamens  ten,  long,  cylindrical,  unequal.  Anthers  with  two  di- 
verging lobes,  pointed  at  the  apex,  opening  by  pores  below,  at 
length  inverted,  orange-brown.  Ovary  round,  downy.  Style 
as  long  as  the  stamens.  Stigma  three-parted.  Capsule  obtusely 
triangular,  opening  by  the  sides  of  the  three  cells,  and  contain- 
ing many  small  angular  seeds  attached  to  the  partitions. 
49 


378        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

This  beautiful  plant  may  be  easily  cultivated,  and  is  much 
improved  by  cultivation,  the  spikes  being  increased  in  length 
and  in  the  size  of  the  flowers.  It  grows  readily  in  any  garden 
soil,  and  may  be  propagated  by  layers  or  cuttings. 

There  are  several  other  species  of  clethra  which  might  be  in- 
troduced, especially  the  acuminate,  the  pa?iicled,  and  the  downy, 
which  would  doubtless  flourish,  as  they  are  natives  of  the  higher 
parts  of  the  Southern  States,  and  have  been  successfully  culti- 
vated in  the  open  air  in  England.  The  first  of  these  is  a  small 
tree.     They  all  continue  in  flower  from  July  to  October. 

XX.  6.  THE  GROUND  LAUREL.  EPIGAEW.     L. 

Creeping,  tufted,  roughish,  evergreen,  American  under-shrubs, 
with  alternate,  entire  leaves,  and  fragrant  flowers  in  dense,  ax- 
illary and  terminal  racemes.  The  calyx  is  deeply  five-parted, 
with  three  bracts  at  the  base  ;  the  corolla  salver-shaped,  villous 
within,  with  a  five-parted,  spreading  border  ;  stamens  ten,  with 
anthers  opening  inwards  from  top  to  bottom  ;  capsule  five-celled, 
many-seeded,  encircled  by  the  persistent  calyx.  There  are  two 
species,  one  found  on  mountain  tops,  in  the  Antilles,  the  other 
here. 

The  May  Flower.     E.  repens.     L. 

Often  from  beneath  the  edge  of  a  snow-bank  are  seen  rising 
the  fragrant,  pearly,  white  or  rose-colored,  crowded  flowers  of 
this  earliest  harbinger  of  the  spring.  It  abounds  in  the  edges  of 
woods  about  Plymouth,  as  elsewhere,  and  must  have  been  the 
first  flower  to  salute  the  storm-beaten  crew  of  the  May  Flower 
on  the  conclusion  of  their  first  terrible  winter.  Their  descend- 
ants have  thence  piously  derived  the  name,  although  its  bloom 
is  often  passed  before  the  coming  in  of  the  month  of  May. 

The  trailing  stem  runs  along  for  several  feet  just  beneath  the 
covering  of  leaves  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  throwing  out 
from  the  sides  or  joints,  at  distances  of  two  or  three  inches, 
bunches  of  fibres  or  long  fibrous  roots,  and  ascending  flower- 
and  leaf-bearing  shoots,  which  usually  enlarge  upwards.  The 
extremities  spread  on  the  ground,  brown,  hairy  and  rough.    The 


XX.     7.  THE  BOXBERRY.  379 

flowers  are  in  terminal,  crowded,  sessile  clusters  or  corymbs. 
At  the  base  of  each  partial  footstalk  is  a  whorl  of  three,  con- 
cave, lanceolate,  hairy,  green  bracts,  ending  in  a  long  point. 
Just  above  is  the  calyx  of  five  narrow,  subulate  segments,  half 
as  long  as  the  tube  of  the  corolla.  The  rose-colored  or  white 
pearly  corolla  is  a  long  tube,  very  hairy  within,  the  extremity 
expanding  into  five  rounded  lobes.  On  the  throat  appear  the 
yellow  anthers,  opening  from  top  to  bottom,  and  resting  upon 
slender  filaments,  hairy  towards  the  base,  proceeding  from  the 
bottom  of  the  tube.  Leaves  alternate.  Footstalks  hairy,  half 
as  long  as  the  leaves,  channelled  above.  Leaves  oblong,  cor- 
date, rounded  at  the  extremity,  and  often  mucronate,  ciliate 
on  the  margin,  coriaceous  and  evergreen,  smooth  and  shiny 
above;  veinlets  impressed;  shiny  and  somewhat  hairy,  espe- 
cially on  the  mid-rib  and  veins  beneath.  Stigma  headed,  five- 
pointed;  style  straight;  ovary  ovate,  hairy.  The  flower  buds 
are  formed  in  August. 

The  May  .flower  is  found  as  far  north  as  the  Saskatchawan, 
throughout  Canada  and  Maine,  and  thence  to  the  sand  hills  of 
Carolina  and  Georgia. 

XX.     7.     THE  BOXBERRY.     GAULTHE^RIA.     L. 

A  genus  named  by  Kalm,  the  favorite  pupil  of  Linnssus,  in 
honor  of  Gaulthier,  a  physician  and  botanist  of  Quebec  in  Canada. 
It  contains,  according  to  De  Candolle,  about  forty  species,  the 
greater  part  of  which  are  found  in  North  and  South  America, 
especially  in  Mexico,  some  on  the  mountains  of  Central  Asia 
and  Java,  three  in  New  Zealand.  They  are  shrubs  and  under 
shrubs,  sometimes  low  trees,  with  alternate  leaves,  and  axillary 
or  terminal,  often  fragrant  flowers,  white,  rose-colored,  or  scar- 
let. The  calyx  is  five-cleft,  with  two  bracts,  distinct  or  united, 
beneath  ;  corolla  ovate,  with  a  short,  revolute,  five-cleft  border; 
stamens  eight  or  ten,  with  hairy  filaments,  and  anthers  bi-lobed 
at  top,  each  lobe  two-awned ;  ten  scales,  distinct  or  united,  in 
the  bottom  of  the  cup;  capsule  depressed,  globose,  five-furrowed, 
five-valved,  five-celled,  many-seeded,  invested  at  base  by  the 
calyx,  which  sometimes  becomes  berry-like. 


380       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


The  Chequer  Berry.     Partridge  Berry.     G.  procumbens.    L. 

Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  Plate  22.     Audubon's  Birds,  with  the 

Wood  Wren,  II,  Plate  179. 

A  delicate,  fragrant,  evergreen  plant,  growing  in  the  deep 
shade  of  other  evergreens,  throwing  up  from  a  creeping  root  a 
tuft  of  three  or  four,  sometimes  seven  or  eight  leaves,  and  nearly 
as  many  flowers.  Stem  an  inch  or  two  high,  dotted  with  white 
dots,  downy,  with  one  or  two  linear,  brown,  abortive  leaves 
near  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

Leaves  elliptical  or  obovate,  pointed  at  each  extremity,  or 
sometimes  rounded  at  the  end  with  a  delicate,  reflected,  mem- 
branous border,  and  a  few  distant  teeth  or  serratures  ending 
often  in  a  bristle.  They  are  of  a  leathery  texture  and  of  a  pol- 
ished dark  green  above,  lighter  below,  supported  by  a  short, 
rather  stout,  often  hairy  petiole. 

Flowers  of  a  pearly  white,  solitary,  from  the  axil  of  the 
leaves,  on  white  or  reddish,  slender,  hairy  or  downy  footstalks, 
one  third  or  one  half  an  inch  long.  Calyx  double;  the  exterior 
of  two  very  short,  broad,  concave,  pointed  bracts,  the  interior 
ending  in  five  or  six  triangular  teeth.  Corolla  monopetalous, 
conical,  broad  at  base,  and  gradually  diminishing  towards  the 
top,  where  it  suddenly  contracts  and  terminates  in  five  or  six 
rounded  teeth,  nearly  closing  the  orifice.  Filaments  very  short, 
white  or  pink,  hairy  without.  Anthers  as  long  as  the  filaments, 
set  upon  their  inner  side,  brown,  large  at  base,  divided  half  way 
down,  each  division  terminated  with  two  pointed  bristles  or 
awns.  Style  nearly  as  long  as  the  corolla,  uniform,  surmount- 
ing a  five-sided,  or  rounded,  greenish  ovary,  which  rests  on  a 
deep  green  disk  with  ten  projecting  teeth.  The  flower-stalks 
bend  down,  so  that  the  flowers  and  fruit  hide  themselves  under 
the  leaves. 

Flowers  in.  May  and  also  in  the  end  of  summer  and  in  au- 
tumn ;  and  the  fruit  is  ripe  in  autumn  and  in  spring.  The  berry 
is  of  a  bright  scarlet,  pleasant  to  the  taste,  but  rather  insipid. 
It  is  often  eaten  in  the  spring  when  no  other  berry  is  to  be 
found.     Its  importance  to  the  partridges  and  other  birds  who 


XX.     8.  THE  COMMON  BEAR  BERRY.  381 

hybernate  in  our  climate,  gives  it  its  most  common  name.  It 
is  also  called  Chequer  Berry,  Box  Berry,  Ivory  Plum  and 
Mountain  Tea.  The  whole  plant  has  a  pleasant,  aromatic 
flavor,  similar  to  that  of  the  black  birch. 

The  leaves  are  sometimes  employed  as  a  substitute  for  tea, 
or  added  to  communicate  an  agreeable  flavor.  An  essence  and 
an  oil  are  extracted  from  the  plant,  which  possess,  in  a  high 
degree,  the  astringent,  warming  and  tonic  properties  of  the 
leaves.  An  infusion  of  the  leaves  has  been  successfully  em- 
ployed to  restore  the  action  of  the  breast,  when  that  fountain 
had  been  dried  up. 

This  plant  is  found  from  Quebec,  in  Canada,  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Carolina. 

XX.    8.     THE  BEAR  BERRY.    ARCTOSTA'PHYLOS. 

Adanson. 

A  genus  of  twelve  or  thirteen  species  of  low  shrubs  with  alter- 
nate leaves,  terminal,  bracteate  racemes  of  white  or  flesh-colored 
flowers,  and  red  or  black  fruit,  natives  of  North  America,  chiefly 
the  mountains  of  Mexico,  and  rocky  woods  and  sunny  mountain 
tops  of  northern  Europe  and  Asia.  Calyx  five-parted,  persist- 
ent ;  corolla  ovate-pitcher-shaped,  with  a  short  five-toothed,  re- 
flexed  mouth.  Stamens  ten ;  filaments  hairy,  dilated  at  the 
base;  anthers  compressed,  opening  by  two  pores  at  the  apex, 
with  two  reflexed  awns  on  the  sides  ;  ovary  depressed-globose, 
girt  with  three  fleshy  scales  ;  style  short ;  stigma  obtuse ;  drupe 
globose,  five-,  six-,  nine-  or  ten-celled  ;  cells  one-seeded. 

The  Common  Bear  Berry.     A.  uva  w~si.     Sprengel. 

Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  I,  Plate  6. 

A  shrubby,  evergreen  plant,  trailing  upon  the  ground  or  on 
rocks,  and  forming  large,  close  mats,  on  dry,  sandy  plains  or 
rocky  hills.  Stem  woody,  with  a  grayish  bark,  which  peels  off 
in  patches.  Young  shoots  ascending,  clothed  with  a  brown- 
ish, downy  bark.  Leaves  crowded  towards  the  end  of  the 
branches,  alternate,  inversely  egg-shaped,  obtuse  at  the  end, 
wedge-shaped  at  base,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  shining  above, 


382       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

paler  and  reticulate  beneath,  with  a  fringe  of  soft  hairs  on  the 
margin,  on  a  short,  downy  footstalk.  Flowers  drooping,  in  a 
terminal  cluster.  Flower-stem  short,  with  a  lance-shaped,  per- 
sistent bract  at  base,  and  two  short  concave  ones  just  above. 
Calyx  of  three  to  five,  reddish,  rounded  segments,  which  re- 
main and  invest  the  base  of  the  ripe  fruit.  Corolla  pitcher- 
shaped,  flesh-colored,  pellucid  at  the  base,  hairy  inside,  with  a 
contracted  mouth  of  five  short,  reflexed  segments.  Anthers 
short,  dark  purple,  opening  with  terminal  pores,  and  tipped 
with  two  long,  crimson,  reflexed  bristles;  filaments  thick  at 
bottom,  tapering,  hairy.  Stigma  short,  cylindrical.  Ovary 
green,  orbicular,  resting  on  a  flattened,  purple  torus. 

Berries  globular,  of  a  deep  red,  filled  with  a  tasteless,  mealy 
pulp,  and  a  drupe  made  up  of  five  wedge-shaped  nuts.  They 
remain  on  through  the  year,  and  serve  as  food  for  partridges 
and  grouse. 

This  plant  abounds  in  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees,  and  in  all  the 
northern  and  mountainous  parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  in  this 
country.  Every  part  of  the  plant  is  very  astringent.  In  Swe- 
den and  Russia  it  is  employed  in  great  quantities  in  tanning,  in 
the  preparation  of  morocco,  and  sometimes  for  dying  wool  an 
ash  color.  In  Iceland,  according  to  Sir  William  Hooker,  it  is 
used  to  impart  a  deep  brown,  and  a  black  color.  "  A  deep  brown 
dye  is  produced  by  boiling  the  cloth  in  water,  with  a  quantity  of 
the  leaves  of  sort'dyng  or  A'rbutus  uva  ursi,"  (for  six  hours, 
in  an  iron  pot.)  To  make  it  afterwards  black,  it  is  boiled  with  a 
paste  of  earth  called  sorta*  In  medicine,  it  has  been  found  effi- 
cacious in  diseases  affecting  the  urinary  passages  and  in  those 
of  the  kidneys. 

THE  RHODORA  TRIBE.   RHODO'REJE.    (Resembling  Rhodbra.)  Don. 

This  section  contains  many  of  the  most  showy  and  orna- 
mental evergreen  or  deciduous  plants  known,  and  several  of  the 
most  beautiful  are  natives  to  our  climate.  They  are  distin- 
guished by  having  flat  leaves  with  the  mid-rib  callous,  and 
flower-buds  with  imbricated  scales  resembling  the  cones  of 
pines. 

*  See  Journal  of  a  Tour  in  Iceland,  p.  215  of  the  2d  ed. 


XX.     9.  THE  ROSE  BAY.  333 


XX.     9.     THE  ROSE  BAY.     RHODODE'NDRON.     L. 

Shrubs  or  trees,  mostly  evergreen,  with  alternate,  very  entire 
leaves,  and  showy,  purple,  lilac,  rose-colored,  white  or  yellow 
flowers,  in  terminal  corymbs,  growing  naturally  on  the  moun- 
tains of  Europe  and  Asia,  in  North  America,  and  on  the  continent 
and  islands  of  India.  Many  of  the  species  have  been  much  culti- 
vated for  their  beauty,  and  many  curious  and  beautiful  varieties 
have  been  formed  by  hybridizing.  The  Tree  Rose  Bay,  R.  arbb- 
reum,  found  on  the  mountains  of  Nepaul,  at  a  height  of  not  less 
than  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  has  natural  varieties,  with 
purple,  intensely  red,  rose-colored,  and  white  flowers.  "  They 
attain  the  size  of  very  large  forest  trees,  and  are  noble  objects  at 
all  times.  They  blossom  simultaneously  in  April,  in  which  state 
the  beauty  of  them  surpasses  all  description,  the  ample  crown 
of  the  trees  being  entirely  covered  with  bunches  of  large  and 
elegant  blossoms." — Walllch,  PL  As.  Rar.  The  flowers  are 
eaten  by  the  natives,  and  are  formed  into  a  jelly  by  Europeans. 
The  Alpine  Rose  Bay,  R.  ferrugineum,  which  grows  in  the 
pasture-lands  amongst  the  Alps  and  Appenines,  has  extremely 
beautiful  flowers  of  lilac,  inclining  to  rose-color,  of  a  disagree- 
able odor.  The  leaves  are  considered  poisonous,  and  a  weak 
infusion  of  them  acts  powerfully  as  a  sudorific.  The  Pontic 
Rose  Bay,  R.  Ponticum,  a  native  of  Lebanon  and  the  moun- 
tains of  Asia  Minor,  has  flowers  of  nearly  the  same  color,  the 
odor  of  which  is  considered  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  of 
the  Black  Sea  as  unwholesome,  and  the  honey  made  by  bees 
feeding  on  the  flowers  has,  since  the  time  of  Xenophon,  been 
considered  poisonous,  producing  vertigo  and  nausea  in  those 
who  eat  it.  Pallas  denies  that  this  property  of  the  honey  is 
owing  to  the  effect  of  the  flowers  of  the  rose  bay,  and  attributes 
it  to  the  flowers  of  Azalea  P6?ilica,  which,  he  says,  grows  plen- 
tifully among  the  bushes  of  rhododendron,  and  which  is  known 
to  render  honey  deleterious.  The  Purple  Rose  Bay,  R.  puni- 
ceum,  so  called  from  the  color  of  the  flowers,  is  a  magnificent 
tree  of  the  mountains  of  the  north  of  India.  Its  leaves  are  often 
covered  with  a  sugary  substance,  which  hardens  to  the  appear- 


384         WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ance  of  varnish.  The  rose  bay  of  Mount  Caucasus  has  lilac- 
colored  flowers ;  the  Golden-flowered,  R.  chrysanthwn,  a  low 
shrub  with  flowers  of  citron  yellow  with  orange  dots,  is  spread 
extensively  in  Russia  and  Siberia,  where  a  decoction  of  its 
leaves  is  a  celebrated  remedy  for  rheumatism  and  affections  of 
the  skin.  In  small  doses,  it  is  sudorific  ;  in  large,  poisonous. 
The  Daourian  and  the  Kamtschatka  rose  bays,  very  low  shrubs 
with  rose-colored  flowers,  and  the  Chinese,  R.  I'ndicum,  of  pur- 
ple, flesh-color,  rose,  white  or  yellow,  are,  with  all  those  above- 
mentioned  and  some  others,  cultivated  in  Europe  and  in  this 
country.  The  species  indigenous  to  the  United  States  are  the 
American  Purple,  R.  purpureum,  the  Catawba,  the  Dotted,  R. 
punciatum,  all  which  are  much  cultivated  and  highly  prized  ; 
Pursh's,  the  Lapland, — and  the  American,  R.  maximum,  one 
of  the  most  beautiful,  and  the  only  true  rhododendron  found 
growing  spontaneously  in  Massachusetts.  The  leaves  of  the 
Bell-flower  Rose  Bay,  R.  campanulatum,  are  used  as  snuff  by 
the  natives  of  India.  The  same  use  is  made  of  the  leaves  of 
R.  maximum  in  this  country ;  and  the  snuff  is  considered  effica- 
cious in  catarrhs  and  other  affections  of  the  head.  The  rhodo- 
dendron has  a  five-parted  calyx ;  a  five-lobed  (rarely  seven- 
lobed)  corolla  which  is  funnel-shaped,  bell-shaped,  or  rarely 
wheel-shaped,  with  the  limb  either  equal  or  somewhat  two- 
lipped,  the  upper  lip  being  broadest  and  usually  spotted.  The 
stamens  are  five  or  ten,  (rarely  six  to  nine,  or  fourteen,)  free 
from  the  corolla  and  commonly  declined  and  projecting ;  with 
anthers  opening  by  two  oblique,  terminal  pores.  The  ovary 
has  five  or  ten  cells,  with  many  ovules  in  each.  The  capsule  is 
five-celled,  five-valved,  rarely  ten-celled,  ten-valved ;  the  seeds 
numerous,  compressed,  winged,  attached  to  the  central  axis. 

The  Common  American  Rose  Bay.     Dwarf  Rose  Bay. 

R.  maximum.     L. 

Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  Plate  51  ;  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II, 
Plate  103  ;  and  in  Micliaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  67. 

The  rose  bay,  as   it  occurs  growing  spontaneously  in  this 
State,  is  a  low,  spreading  plant,  with  its  lower  branches  lying 


XX.     9.      COMMON  AMERICAN  ROSE  BAY.  385 

on  the  ground,  and  its  central  stems  rising  to  the  height  of  from 
three  to  six  or  seven  feet.  It  forms  round  or  straggling  clumps 
or  islets  in  the  swamps  where  it  is  found.  In  more  southern 
States,  it  sometimes  rises  to  the  height  of  twenty  or  twenty-five 
feet,  with  a  diameter  of  four  or  five  inches.  The  stem  is  gray- 
ish, and  rough  with  loose,  broken  flakes  of  bark.  The  recent 
shoots  are  large,  and,  with  the  leaf-stalks,  are  yellow  or  of  a 
yellowish  green  color,  often  covered  with  white  dust.  The 
older  branches  are  dark  purple  and  soon  turn  gray. 

When  the  leaves  first  begin  to  expand,  they  are  of  a  reddish 
color  and  covered  with  an  abundant  red  down  or  cotton.  When 
fully  expanded,  they  are  smooth,  of  a  shining  light,  afterwards 
dark  green  above;  when  several  years  old,  they  become  brown, 
coarse  and  rough.  Their  lower  surface  is  pale  or  rust-colored. 
They  are  from  three  or  four  to  eight  or  nine  inches  long,  and 
one  or  two  broad,  elliptic-oblong,  round,  obtuse,  or  acute  at 
base,  with  a  very  entire,  slightly  reflexed  border,  and  ending  in 
a  rather  sharp,  entire  point.  Their  texture  is  firm,  tough  and 
leathery,  and  they  are  supported  on  very  stout  footstalks,  flat- 
tened or  hollowed  above,  half  an  inch  or  an  inch  long. 

The  flowers  are  in  round,  thyrse-like,  crowded  clusters,  from 
four  to  eight  inches  broad,  on  the  ends  of  the  branches.  The 
large,  conical,  flower-buds  are  formed  in  September.  Just  be- 
fore expanding  they  are  one  or  two  inches  long,  and  an  inch 
broad,  invested  with  a  large  number  of  concave,  rhomboidal, 
pointed,  more  or  less  colored  scales,  one  of  which  protects  each 
separate  flower-bud,  and  among  which  the  richly  colored  corolla 
is  seen  at  intervals.  As  the  flowers  expand  these  scales  fall  off, 
leaving  numerous  scars  at  the  base  of  the  common  flower- 
stem.  Each  flower  is  supported  by  a  stalk  one  or  two  inches 
long,  which,  as  well  as  the  calyx  leaves,  is  covered  with  a  vis- 
cid or  glutinous  down,  and  has  long,  thread-like,  downy  bracts, 
on  each  side  at  the  base.  The  calyx  is  divided  into  five  une- 
qual, rounded  segments,  of  a  delicate  texture.  The  corolla  is 
of  one  piece,  with  a  border  expanding  from  a  short  tube  into 
five  unequal,  oblong,  rounded  segments,  the  upper  one  of  which 
is  largest  and  has  its  cavity  mottled  with  numerous  small,  yel- 
low or  greenish  or  orange-colored  spots.  The  color  of  the  corolla 
50 


386        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

varies  in  different  exposures  and  on  different  plants,  with  every 
shade  of  rose  and  flesh-color  to  pure  white.  The  stamens  are 
ten,  very  unequal,  inclining  towards  the  lower  side  of  the 
flower,  of  the  color  of  the  corolla,  on  slender  filaments,  which 
are  larger  and  densely  covered  with  silky  down  near  the  base. 
The  anthers  consist  of  two  short  sacks,  opening  at  the  apex 
with  round,  bordered  pores,  and  discharging  white  pollen.  The 
ovary  is  roundish,  surmounted  by  a  curved  style  which  gradu- 
ally enlarges  upwards  and  terminates  in  a  broad,  five-sided, 
stigmatic  surface.  The  capsule  is  egg-shaped,  five-angled  and 
five-celled,  with  numerous,  minute  seeds. 

The  rose  bay  is  found  as  far  north  as  the  town  of  Standish, 
on  the  borders  of  Sebago  Lake,  in  Maine.  It  grows  in  great 
abundance  in  an  extensive  swamp  in  Medfield,  not  far  from 
Charles  River,  and  in  a  smaller  one  in  Attleborough.  It  every- 
where delights  in  deep,  moist  shades.  In  the  Northern  States, 
it  occurs  only  at  intervals,  in  protected  situations.  It  is  of 
more  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Middle  States,  and  in  the  deep 
valleys  among  the  higher  ranges  of  the  Alleghanies,  especially 
in  Virginia,  it  becomes  so  abundant,  according  to  Michaux,  on 
the  sides  of  the  mountain  torrents,  as  to  form  impenetrable 
thickets,  in  which  the  bear  finds  a  secure  retreat  from  the  pur- 
suit of  dogs  and  hunters. 

Pursh  describes  three  marked  varieties  of  the  American  Rose 
Bay.  The  first,  with  rose-colored  flowers,  found  in  the  moun- 
tains, by  rivulets  and  lakes,  from  Canada  to  Carolina,  flowering 
in  June  and  July ;  the  second,  with  smaller  flowers  perfectly 
white,  in  the  shady  cedar  swamps  of  New  Jersey  and  Dela- 
ware, flowering  in  July  and  August;  the  third,  with  purple 
flowers,  growing  on  the  highest  mountains  of  Virginia  and  Ca- 
rolina, near  lakes,  and  flowering  in  May  and  June.  This  last 
grows  to  a  large  size,  with  a  stem  eighteen  inches  in  diameter, 
and  foliage  thrice  the  size  of  any  other  variety.  He  considers  it 
as  approaching  the  Pontic  Rhododendron.  The  two  former 
varieties,  which  differ  only  in  the  color  and  size  of  the  flowers, 
are  to  be  found  in  Massachusetts. 

The  Dwarf  Rose  Bay  is  readily  cultivated,  if  planted  in  the 
peat  or  bog  soil  which  is  everywhere  to  be  found  in  New  Eng- 


XX.     9.  THE  SWAMP  PINK.  387 

land,  and  if  care  be  taken  to  protect  it  from  the  scorching  heat 
of  summer,  and  to  place  it  in  a  sheltered  situation  where  it  shall 
not  be  exposed  to  the  severest  winds  of  winter.  It  richly  de- 
serves a  place  in  every  garden. 

It  is  the  most  beautiful  native  flower  of  Massachusetts,  and 
is  singularly  well  fitted  to  ornament  a  parlor.  A  flower-bud 
not  beginning  to  open  has  been  placed  in  a  vase,  where  it 
opened  its  flowers  as  well  as  if  left  on  the  stem;  and  the  flowers 
continued  fresh  and  beautiful  more  than  fifteen  days. 

Section  Azalea. — The  Azaleas  differ  from  the  true  Rhodo- 
dendrons in  having  only  five  stamens,  and  their  leaves  decidu- 
ous. They  differ  still  more  in  habit  and  properties.  The 
flowers  are  large  and  fragrant,  and,  in  the  different  species, 
they  are  yellow,  white,  flesh-colored,  rose-red,  or  variegated, 
and  covered  externally  with  hairs  or  with  a  glandular  pubes- 
cence. The  Pontic  Azalea,  the  one  longest  known  and  culti- 
vated, has  yellow,  orange  or  white  flowers,  which  exhale  a 
fragrance  similar  to  that  of  the  honeysuckle,  but  stronger,  and 
reputed  unwholesome. 

Sp.  1.     The  Swamp  Pink.     Wild  Honeysuckle.     R.  viscbsum. 
Torrey.     Azalea  viscoses.     L. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  115. 

A  flowering  shrub,  growing  abundantly  in  open  woods  or  on 
their  borders,  in  low,  wet  grounds,  in  most  parts  of  New  Eng- 
land. Springing  from  a  small  root,  with  an  ashen  or  slaty  and 
various  colored  or  clouded  stem,  seldom  more  than  an  inch 
in  diameter,  and  throwing  out  branches  in  imperfect  whorls  or 
stages,  this  beautiful  plant  rises  to  a  bushy  head  at  six  or 
eight  feet  from  the  ground.  In  the  end  of  May,  the  season  at 
which  the  flowering  begins,  it  is  remarkable  for  its  large,  cone- 
like flower-buds,  composed  of  many  scales,  which,  opening  and 
falling,  expose  to  view  bunches  of  fragrant,  irregular  flowers. 
The  leaves  are  alternate,  or  in  tufts  of  five  or  six,  at  the  end  of 
the  branchlets  which  encircle  the  flower-stalk.  They  are  in- 
versely egg-shaped,  pointed  at  the  end  with  a  brown,  callous 


388        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

point,  reflex  and  ciliate  on  the  margin,  smooth  and  sometimes 
shining  above,  with  the  mid-rib  bristling  beneath  and  tapering 
at  base  to  a  short  stalk. 

The  flowers  are  six  to  twelve,  in  a  diverging  whorl  or  termi- 
nal corymb,  their  stems,  when  few,  issuing  from  nearly  the 
same  point.  At  the  foot  of  each  green  or  colored  flower-stem, 
are  a  white,  hollow,  obovate,  bract-like  scale,  nearly  as  long 
as  the  stem,  and  one  or  two  fugacious,  thread-like  bracts,  much 
shorter.  The  stem  and  flower  are  covered  with  glandular, 
sometimes  glutinous  hairs.  The  calyx  is  usually  short,  with 
five  rounded  or  pointed,  ciliate  or  hairy  teeth.  The  corolla  is  a 
white  or  scarlet,  oblique  tube,  set  with  brownish,  viscous  hairs, 
and  expanding  into  live  unequal,  reflexed,  pink  segments,  of  a 
pure  white,  or  sometimes  with  a  tint  of  flesh  color  within. 
Three  or  four  stamens  are  usually  longer,  and  one  or  two  shorter 
than  the  corolla,  with  scarlet  threads,  downy  below  and  smooth 
above,  bending  upwards  and  supporting  a  light,  rust-colored, 
linear  anther,  opening  obliquely  at  the  extremity  by  two  round 
pores.  The  ovary,  at  flowering,  is  a  five-sided  pyramid.  The 
style  is  scarlet,  slightly  hairy,  a  little  longer  than  the  stamen, 
with  a  capitate  stigma.  The  fruit,  which  often  remains  on  the 
stem  till  the  flowers  of  the  succeeding  season  appear,  is  a  dry, 
five-celled,  many-seeded  capsule,  with  valves  opening  from  the 
centre  and  top,  and  having  the  persistent,  sickle- shaped  style 
at  the  end  of  the  central  axis. 

There  are  many  permanent  varieties  of  this  plant  in  its  native 
state,  differing  in  the  color  and  viscidness  of  the  flowers,  the 
shape  of  the  calyx-segments,  and  the  color  of  the  leaves.  The 
most  marked  are 

Var.  1. — Glaucum  of  Pursh,  in  which  the  leaves  are  green 
above  and  glaucous  beneath. 

Var.  2. — Leaves  pale  above  and  glaucous  beneath,  with  the 
teeth  of  the  calyx  long,  spatulate  and  reflexed. 

Var.  3. — Leaves  glaucous  on  both  surfaces  and  with  later 
flowers. 

Few  flower  plants  have  been  more  valued  and  cultivated  in 
European  gardens  than  this.  None  more  readily  hybridizes 
with  the  other  rhododendrons  and  azaleas.     In  Loddige's  Cata- 


XX.     9.  THE  RHODORA.  389 

logue  for  1836,  more  than  one  hundred  hybrid  varieties  are 
enumerated,  most  of  them  beautiful. 

Sp.  2.     The  Upright  Honeysuckle.     R.  nudijlbrum.     Torrey. 

Azalea  nudijibra.     L. 

Figured  in  Abbott's  Insects  of  Georgia,  I,  Plate  27. 

A  low,  spreading  shrub,  distinguished  from  the  last  by  its 
broader  and  fuller  leaves  and  more  highly  colored  flowers. 
These  are  in  bunches  of  six  or  more,  radiating  from  one  or  two 
points.  The  flower-stems  are  longer  than  the  tube,  deeply  col- 
ored and  set  with  short  hairs.  Calyx  of  five,  oblong,  short  se- 
pals, unequal,  with  a  row  of  hairs  on  the  edge.  Tube  of  the 
corolla  dark  red,  border  shorter  and  of  a  fainter  color.  The 
very  prominent  stamens  are  of  a  dark  maroon  color,  as  is  the 
still  longer  style.     Stigma  rounded,  dark  purple. 

This  is  found  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  towards  the 
borders  of  Rhode  Island,  and  in  several  parts  of  Worcester 
County,  but  far  less  abundantly  than  the  last.  It,  however, 
grows  as  freely  in  the  open  air,  and  shows  the  same  tendency 
to  produce  varieties  and  the  same  facility  in  hybridizing.  Nine 
distinct  varieties,  native  or  occurring  in  cultivation,  are  de- 
scribed by  Don,  and  forty-three  additional  ones  are  enumerated 
in  Loddige's  Catalogue. 

The  rhododendrons  grow  in  almost  any  soil,  if  in  a  situa- 
tion protected  from  the  cold  winds  of  winter  and  the  burning 
sun  of  summer ;  and  I  have  seen  the  maximum  flourishing 
where  exposed  to  both.  But  they  do  best  in  a  somewhat  close 
and  tenacious  soil,  rather  moist.  They  may  be  propagated  by 
cuttings,  by  layers  or  by  seeds.  The  latter  mode  is  considered 
best;  the  seeds  to  be  sown  in  peat  soil  or  in  fine,  sandy  loam, 
in  a  shady  border.  When  transplanted,  they  should  have  a 
ball  of  earth  left  adhering  to  the  roots. 

THE  RHODORA.     RHODO'RA.     L. 

From  rhodon,  a  rose. 

Calyx  five-toothed ;  corolla  two-lipped ;  stameus  ten  ;  cap- 
sule five-celled,  five-valved ;  leaves  deciduous. 


390        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


The  Canada  Rhodora.      R.  rhodbra.      Don.     Rhodbra  Cana- 
densis.    L. 

An  early  flowering  shrub,  from  one  to  three  feet  high,  distin- 
guished for  its  copper-colored  stem  and  glaucous  leaves,  and 
clusters  of  naked  flowers  coming  out  before  the  leaves  appear. 
The  recent  shoots  are  straight  and  erect,  of  a  light  brown,  some- 
times hairy,  enlarging  gradually  to  the  extremity.  The  shoots 
of  the  preceding  year  are  covered  with  a  porcelain-like  cuticle, 
which  peels  off,  and  leaves,  on  the  older  branches,  and  irregular, 
crooked  stems,  a  bright,  copper-colored,  smooth  bark.  The 
leaves  are  borne  on  short  footstalks,  narrow,  lance-shaped  or 
oval,  acute  at  each  extremity,  revolute  at  the  margin,  pale  green 
or  glaucous  above,  lighter  and  glaucous  and  downy  beneath. 

The  flowers  are  in  little  tufts  at  the  end  of  the  branches. 
The  stem  is  very  short  and  somewhat  hairy.  The  calyx  is 
very  minute.  The  purple  or  rose-colored  corolla  is  deeply  cleft, 
and  seems  to  consist  of  two  narrow  petals,  round  at  the  end, 
and  one  broader,  ending  in  three  lobes.  The  three  are  slightly 
united  at  base.  Stamens  ten,  as  long  as  the  corolla,  with  fila- 
ments somewhat  hairy  below,  sustaining  short,  roundish,  purple 
anthers,  opening  by  two  terminal  pores.  Ovary  bristly.  Style 
purple,  longer  than  the  stamens,  supporting  a  large  stigma. 
The  capsules  are  half  an  inch  long,  divided  into  five  cells  by 
valves  which  open  inwards,  the  partitions  being  formed  by  the 
margins  of  the  valves  turned  inwards.  At  the  time  of  flower- 
ing, the  leaves  are  just  beginning  to  be  visible,  covered  with 
hairs,  pushing  from  the  very  small,  scaly  leaf-buds.  This 
plant,  which  flowers  in  April  or  May,  is  found  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Boston,  and  not  unfrequently  in  wet  land  in  other  parts 
of  the  State.  It  also  occurs  in  Newfoundland,  in  Maine,  and 
in  Connecticut. 


XX.     10.     THE   AMERICAN    LAUREL.     KA'LMIA.     L. 

A  small  genus  of  beautiful,  flowering,  American  plants,  named 
by  Linnseus  in  honor  of  Peter  Kalm,  a  favorite  pupil,  a  travel- 
ler and  distinguished  botanist.     The  leaves  are  alternate  or  in 


XX.     10.  THE  AMERICAN  LAUREL.  391 

ternate  whorls,  and  evergreen,  except  in  the  species,  K.  cuneata, 
in  which  they  are  deciduous ;  the  flowers  in  terminal  clus- 
ters or  compound  corymbs ;  the  buds  are  naked.  The  flow- 
ers are  rose-colored,  purplish  or  white.  The  calyx  is  five- 
parted ;  corolla  salver-shaped,  with  a  five-lobed  border  with 
ten  horn-like  projections  on  the  lower  surface,  in  the  cavities  of 
which  above,  the  anthers  nestle.  Stamens  ten,  with  anthers 
opening  by  oblique  pores.  Capsule  five-celled,  many-seeded, 
the  partitions  formed  by  the  borders  of  the  valves.  Five  species 
are  known,  two  of  them  in  Carolina  and  Florida,  the  other 
three  in  New  England.  Most  of  the  species  are  considered 
poisonous ;  one  of  them,  the  narrow-leaved,  is  known  to  be 
fatal  to  lambs,  and  gets  its  common  name  thence.  Mr.  Nuttall 
thinks  it  not  improbable  that  the  deleterious  honey  sometimes 
complained  of,  may  have  received  its  injurious  property  from 
the  flowers  of  the  Kalmia  latifblia.  Kalm,  who  paid  much 
attention  to  the  genus,  says  that  the  leaves  of  this  species  are 
found  to  be  poisonous  to  calves  and  lambs,  and  deleterious  to 
cattle,  sheep  and  horses ;  while  they  are  the  food  of  stags  when 
the  snow  covers  the  ground  and  hides  other  provision  from  them. 
The  occasionally  poisonous  quality  of  the  flesh  of  partridges 
has  been  attributed  to  their  feeding  on  the  buds  of  Kalmia  ;  but 
Wilson,  the  ornithologist,  says  he  has  eaten  freely  and  without 
ill  consequences,  upon  the  flesh  of  these  birds,  when  their  crops 
had  been  found  distended  with  Kalmia  buds.  Dr.  Barton  con- 
siders the  Kalmia  deleterious  to  the  human  system,  and  says 
that  the  Indians  made  use  of  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  to  destroy 
themselves.  Dr.  Bigelow,  who  has  collected  the  facts  in  relation 
to  this  subject,  and  himself  made  experiments  and  chemical  anal- 
yses to  ascertain  the  properties  of  Kalmia  latifblia,  is  inclined 
to  think  that  "the  noxious  effect  of  the  Kalmia  upon  young 
grazing  animals,  may  be  in  some  measure  attributed  to  its  indi- 
gestible quality,  owing  to  the  quantity  of  resin  contained  in  the 
leaves." 


392       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Sp.  1.     The  Mountain  Laurel.     Clamoun.     Spoonwood. 

K.  latifblia.     L. 

Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  I,  Plate  13  ;  also  in  Catesby's  Carolina, 
II,  Plate  98 ;  Abbott's  Insects,  I,  Plate  37  ;  and  in  Audubon's  Birds,  I, 
Plate  55. 

This  extremely  beautiful  shrub  occurs  in  various  parts  of  the 
State ;  on  the  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  at  Cohasset,  in 
several  points  on  both  sides  of  Buzzard's  Bay,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Newburyport  and  Lowell,  in  many  parts  of  Worcester 
County,  on  every  side  of  Wachusett,  and  in  the  towns  on  both 
declivities  of  the  Green  Mountains.  In  the  deep,  shady  ravines 
of  these  mountains,  it  sometimes  attains  a  height  of  fifteen  or 
even  twenty  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  three  or  four  inches.  In 
most  other  places,  and  especially  on  open  ground,  it  rarely  ex- 
ceeds four  or  five  feet  in  height.  On  an  open,  rocky  pasture  of 
many  acres,  south  of  Meeting-house  Pond  in  Westboro',  it  forms 
large,  close,  clumps  or  islets,  intersected  by  plots  and  alleys  of 
grass.  In  June  and  July,  when  every  one  of  these  innumerable 
green  islets  is  crowned  with  white  or  rose-colored  flowers,  and 
cattle  are  feeding  on  the  grass  or  lying  under  the  few  oaks 
which  are  scattered  through  the  pasture, — the  whole,  with  the 
lake  and  its  fringe  of  trees,  is  worth  going  out  of  one's  way 
to  see. 

The  Indians  called  this  plant  clamoun.  It  is  sometimes  called 
spoonwood,  rarely  calico  bush  ;  most  frequently,  mountain  lau- 
rel, or  broad-leaved  Kalmia. 

The  stem  of  the  mountain  laurel  is  slender,  with  branches  in 
twos  or  threes,  or  in  imperfect  whorls.  The  bark  on  the  recent 
branchlets  is  of  a  yellowish  green,  which  in  a  year  begins  to 
turn  brown,  and  afterwards  becomes  ash-colored.  The  epider- 
mis on  the  older  stems  easily  and  often  peals  off  in  long  plates, 
leaving  a  brownish  or  grayish  bark.  The  principal  stem  in  old 
stocks  is  covered  with  a  grayish  brown,  entire  bark,  cleft  regu- 
larly with  long,  smooth  clefts.  This  difference  in  bark  often 
gives  the  branches  the  appearance  of  having  been  grafted.  The 
leaves  are  scattered,  opposite,  or  in  whorls  or  tufts,  from  two  to 
four  inches  long,  and  two  fifths  as  broad,  oval,  acute  at  each 


XX.     10.  THE  MOUNTAIN  LAUREL.  393 

extremity,  very  entire,  polished  above,  somewhat  reflexed  at  the 
edge,  with  the  mid-rib  prominent,  of  a  soft,  leathery  texture, 
on  footstalks  one  quarter  or  one  third  of  their  length.     The 
flowers  are   in  terminal   heads   which  crown   the   last  year's 
leaves,  and  consist  of  two  or  three  stout  stems  proceeding  from  the 
axil  of  as  many  leaves,  and  giving  off  from  one  to  three  pairs  of 
opposite  branches.    The  partial  flower -stalks  are  an  inch  or  more 
long,  covered  with  glandular  hairs.     Each  branch  and  partial 
stalk  has  a  short,  pointed  bract  at  its  base,  and  a  shorter  ovate 
one  on  each  side.     The  calyx  is  persistent,  of  five,  short,  ovate, 
pointed   segments,   covered   with  glutinous  hairs,   and   green, 
with  colored  tips,  expanded  till  the  corolla  has  fallen,   after 
which  it  embraces  the  ovary.     The  corolla  is  monopetalous ; 
before  opening  it  has  the  shape  of  a  ten-angled  casket ;  on  ex- 
pansion it  becomes  salver- shaped,  with  a  short  tube  and  a  bor- 
der of  five,  triangular,  raised  lobes.     The  stamens  are  ten,  with 
white  filaments,  bent  back  and  nestling  their  brown  anthers  in 
little  cavities  in  the  side  of  the  corolla.     On  being  touched,  they 
escape  with  a  spring  and  bend  over,  around  the  pistil.     The 
anthers  open  with  tAvo  oblique,  terminal  pores.     The  color  of 
the  corolla  varies  from  a  pure  white  to  a  rich  rose.     The  border 
of  the  tube  within  is  painted  with  a  waving,  rosy  line,  and  there 
is  a  delicate  pencilling  of  purple  above  each  depression  for  the 
anthers.      The  ovary  is  round,  green,   with  white,  glandular 
hairs,  and  an  erect,  club-shaped  pistil,  longer  than  the  stamens, 
and  remaining  after  the  corolla  has  fallen.     The  capsule  is  glob- 
ular, imperfectly  five-angled,  set  with  glandular,  glutinous  hairs, 
five-celled  and  five-valved,  with  numerous  minute,  compressed 
seeds,  attached  to  the  central  axis. 

The  wood  of  the  mountain  laurel  is  very  smooth,  close- 
grained  and  hard,  and  that  of  the  root  is  marked  with  red  lines. 
It  is  substituted  for  box,  is  well  adapted  to  the  turner's  use,  and 
for  the  engraver  on  wood,  and  is  employed  in  making  the  han- 
dles of  small  tools,  screws,  boxes,  and  musical  instruments. 

Found  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  from  Canada  to 
Florida.  Flowering  in  June  and  July.  Easily  cultivated  in  a 
moist  soil,  and  richly  deserving  a  place  in  every  American  gar- 
den. 

51 


394        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sp.  2.     The  Narrow-leaved  Kalmia.     K.  an  gusli 'folia.     L. 

Figured  in  Catesby's  Carolina,  I,  Plate  117,  where  it  is  called  Chamaedaphne 
sempervirens.     Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  195. 

A  low,  evergreen  shrub,  usually  half  a  foot  or  a  foot  high, 
rarely  two  feet,  forming  often  small  tufts  or  patches  in  low 
grounds.  The  stem  is  ascending,  covered  with  a  brown  bark, 
shining  through  the  thin,  membranaceous  silvery  epidermis, 
in  recent  shoots  of  a  light  reddish  green.  Branches  often  in 
threes.  Leaves  in  whorls  of  three,  entire,  lance-shaped,  revo- 
lute  on  the  margin,  with  the  mid-rib  very  prominent  beneath, 
shining  green  above,  paler  and  often  rusty  beneath,  of  a  soft, 
leathery  texture,  those  of  the  previous  year  browner  and  harder. 
Flowers  in  corymbs,  in  from  three  to  twelve  whorls  of  three, 
in  the  axils  of  the  persistent  last  year's  leaves,  and  surmounted 
by  the  new  leaves.  In  each  axil  is  a  panicle  consisting  of  about 
three  imperfect  whorls  of  three  flowers.  At  the  base  of  each 
flower-stem  is  a  small  linear  bract,  and  two  smaller  ones  on  the 
sides.     The  flowers  are  very  beautiful,  of  a  deep  rose-red. 

From  its  supposed  poisonous  effect  upon  lambs,  this  plant  is 
often  called  lamb-kill  or  sheep-kill.  It  is  found  from  Hudson's 
Bay  to  Georgia. 

There  are  many  slight  varieties  of  this  plant,  some  of  them 
remarkable  for  leaves  glaucous  beneath  and  somewhat  so  above. 

Sp.  3.     The  Glaucous  Kalmia.     K.  glauca.     Aiton. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  193. 

An  almost  aquatic  plant,  with  a  long,  straggling  stem,  with  a 
greenish  brown,  smooth  bark,  and  slender,  two-edged,  opposite 
branches,  or  three-edged  in  whorls  of  three.  The  leaves  are 
opposite,  or  in  threes,  nearly  sessile,  linear-lance-shaped,  entire, 
obtuse  or  pointed,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  revolute  at  the  edge, 
of  a  brilliant  dark  green  above,  whitish  or  glaucous  beneath. 
Flowers  in  terminal  corymbs,  made  of  alternately  opposite  pairs, 
or  in  threes,  from  the  axil  of  a  small  leaf  or  bract,  with  two 
lateral  scales.  Footstalks  thread-like,  three  fourths  of  an  inch 
long.     Calyx  persistent,  with  five  long,  obtuse,  brown  segments. 


XX.     11.  THE  LABRADOR  TEA.  395 

Corolla  pale  rose-colored,  with  cavities  to  receive  the  ten  an- 
thers, which  are  supported  on  stamens  proceeding  from  the  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  corolla,  with  filaments  surrounded  by  a  circle 
of  hairs  at  the  base,  and  brown  anthers. 

This  plant  is  found  in  Richmond,  in  Berkshire,  and  in  a  few 
other  places  in  the  State.  Dr.  Alexander  pointed  it  out  to  me 
in  Hubbardston,  growing  with  Ledum,  in  an  open,  sphagnous 
swamp,  which  had  been  used  as  a  reservoir  for  a  mill-stream, 
and  had  thus  been  kept  full  of  water  nearly  throughout  the 
year.  When  I  gathered  these  plants  there,  the  swamp  was 
overgrown  with  a  most  abundant  growth  of  Cassandra  calycu- 
lata,  covering  the  surface  with  a  purplish  brown  hue.  Amidst 
this  the  sphagnum  had  formed  masses  a  foot  or  two  above  the 
general  level,  on  which  the  Ledum  and  Kalmia  were  growing ; 
their  long,  prostrate,  root-like  stems  penetrating  to  a  consider- 
able distance  in  the  spongy  mass.  On  the  edges  were  Rhodora 
and  Andromeda ;  the  general,  more  wet  level  was  occupied  by 
cotton  grass,  and  the  dry  banks  by  narrow-leaved  Kalmia, 
huckleberries  and  other  shrubs  that  avoid  the  water.  It  is  found 
from  near  the  Arctic  circle  in  Canada  to  Pennsylvania. 

The  flower  of  Kalmia  glauca  has  been  compared  to  a  minia- 
ture parasol,  the  corolla  to  the  covering,  the  stamens  to  the  ribs, 
and  the  style  to  the  handle. 

XX.     11.     THE  LABRADOR  TEA.     LE^DUM.     L. 

A  genus  of  two  species  of  low,  evergreen  undershrubs,  with 
alternate,  coriaceous  leaves,  more  or  less  revolute,  downy  be- 
neath, odorous  when  crushed ;  and  white  flowers  in  terminal 
corymbs, — found  in  cool,  wet  places,  in  the  northern  regions  of 
both  continents.  The  calyx  is  five- toothed ;  the  corolla  has  five 
spreading  petals ;  stamens  five  or  ten ;  capsule  five-celled,  many- 
seeded,  with  five  valves  opening  from  the  bottom  upwards  ;  seeds 
numerous,  linear,  with  a  membranous  wing  on  each  side.  The 
species  which  is  common  to  the  two  continents,  has  a  bitter  and 
astringent  taste  and  narcotic  properties.  In  Russia,  the  leaves 
are  used  in  tanning,  and  are  substituted  for  hops  in  beer,  which 
has,  in  consequence,  the  property  of  causing  headache  and  ver- 
tigo.    One  species  is  found  in  Massachusetts. 


396        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


The  Broad-leaved  Ledum.    Labrador  Tea.     L.  latifblium.    L. 
Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds  of  America,  II,  Plate  191. 

A  low,  evergreen,  branching  shrub,  with  the  recent  shoots 
and  under  surface  of  the  leaves  densely  covered  with  rust- 
colored  wool.  The  older  branches  are  reddish  brown  or  cop- 
per-colored ;  the  stem  is  nearly  black.  The  leaves  are  on  very 
short  footstalks,  lance-shaped,  obtuse,  with  the  border  much 
revolute,  of  a  light  green  above,  and  covered  with  a  rusty  down 
or  wool  beneath.  Flowers  erect,  in  crowded,  terminal  corymbs, 
on  slender,  somewhat  downy  stems,  rising  from  the  bosom  of  a 
short,  concave  bract,  covered  with  resinous  dots.  The  calyx  is 
minute,  with  five  obtuse  teeth.  Corolla  of  five,  oblong,  rounded, 
white  petals.  Stamens  from  five  to  ten,  as  long  as  the  petals, 
on  slender  filaments,  with  small,  white,  or  yellowish  anthers 
opening  by  two  terminal  pores.  Ovary  roundish.  Style  white, 
turning  red,  as  long  as  the  stamens,  persistent,  with  a  small 
stigma.  The  capsule  is  oblong-oval,  crowned  with  the  style, 
and  supported  by  the  calyx,  nodding  until  it  begins  to  open, 
which  it  does  by  five  valves  at  bottom,  when  it  is  inverted  and 
pendent.  The  leaves  growing  on  branches  near  the  ground, 
are  sometimes  nearly  destitute  of  wool,  and  are  flat,  short,  ellip- 
tical, and  scattered  with  resinous  dots  beneath.  The  root  or 
subterranean  stem  is  large,  and  throws  out  numerous,  wool-like 
radicles.     Flowers  in  May  and  June. 

In  Labrador,  its  leaves  have  been  used  as  a  substitute  for 
tea.  It  is  found  in  all  the  countries  north  of  us,  and  in  sphag- 
nous  swamps  in  Pittsfield,  Richmond,  and  Hubbardston,  in  this 
State.  The  ledum  may  be  cultivated  in  a  peat  soil  or  sandy 
loam,  and  is  readily  propagated  by  layers  or  by  seeds. 


XXI.  THE  WHORTLEBERRY  FAMILY.  397 


FAMILY  XXI.    THE  WHORTLEBERRY  FAMILY.     VACCI'NIEJE. 

De  Candolle. 

The  whortleberries  and  cranberries  take  the  place,  through- 
out the  northern  part  of  this  continent,  of  the  heaths  of  the  cor- 
responding climates  of  Europe;  and  fill  it  with  not  less  of 
beauty,  and  incomparably  more  of  use.  This  family  includes 
erect  or  creeping  shrubs,  with  numerous,  irregular  branches, 
simple,  alternate  leaves,  on  short  stalks,  sometimes  coriaceous 
and  perennial,  and  flowers  solitary  or  in  racemes.  The  charac- 
teristics are  nearly  those  of  the  previous  family ;  calyx  adherent 
to  the  ovary,  entire,  or  with  from  four  to  six  lobes,  with  which 
the  equally  numerous  lobes  of  the  corolla  alternate  ;  the  stamens 
double  that  number  and  distinct,  with  two-horned  anthers  open- 
ing by  pores,  or  short  slits;  ovary  four-  or  five-celled;  style 
and  stigma  simple ;  berry  crowned  by  the  persistent  limb  of  the 
calyx,  succulent,  four-  or  five-,  or  eight-  or  ten-celled ;  cells  one- 
or  many -seeded ;  seeds  minute. 

This  family  has  usually  been  made  a  tribe  of  the  Heath 
Family,  from  which  it  differs  essentially  only  in  its  juicy  fruit 
surmounted  by  the  calyx -segments.  Most  of  the  plants  which 
it  comprehends  bear  pleasant  and  wholesome  fruits,  and  are 
found  chiefly  in  the  temperate,  or  on  mountains  in  the  warmer 
regions  of  America.  Some  are  found  in  Europe  ;  some  on  the 
continent  and  islands  of  Asia,  and  on  islands  in  the  Atlantic, 
Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans.  The  leaves  and  bark  have  astrin- 
gent and  tonic  properties.  Many  species  deserve  cultivation  for 
their  beauty. 

Three  genera  are  found  in  Massachusetts : — 

The  Whortleberry,  with  erect  stems,  ovoid  corollas,  and 
agreeably  acidulous  fruit ; 

The  Cranberry,  with  creeping  stems,  expanded  or  rcvolute 
corolla,  and  acid  fruit ;  and 

The  Chiogenes,  with  creeping  stems,  bell-shaped  corolla,  and 
white,  pleasant  fruit  with  a  chequer-berry  flavor. 


398        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


XXI.     1.     THE  WHORTLEBERRY.     VACCI'NIUM.     L. 

A  genus  of  nearly  eighty  species  of  shrubs  and  under  shrubs, 
rarely  small  trees,  occurring  most  numerously  in  North  America, 
and  less  frequently  in  tropical  America,  Madagascar,  northern 
India,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  middle  and  northern  Europe  and 
northern  Asia,  with  alternate,  sometimes  evergreen  leaves,  and 
solitary  or  racemed  flowers  arid  fruit.  Most  of  the  species  bear 
edible  and  wholesome  berries.  The  bark  and  leaves  of  the 
three  European  species  are  very  astringent,  and  have  been 
much  employed  in  tanning.  The  fruit  of  the  Bilberry,  V.  myr- 
tillus,  the  best  of  the  three,  is  highly  esteemed  for  its  agreeably 
acidulous  taste.  Vinous  and  alcoholic  drinks  and  vinegar  are 
prepared  from  it.  The  juice,  with  lime,  verdigris,  and  sal  am- 
moniac, furnishes  the  painter  a  beautiful  purple  color ;  with 
sulphate  of  copper  and  alum,  it  gives  a  blue,  of  no  great  perma- 
nence, but  often  used  in  the  preparation  of  colored  paper.  The 
name  whortleberry,  originally  given  to  this  species,  is  derived 
from  the  Saxon  heort-berg  or  heorot-berg,  the  hart's  berry. 
Similar  uses  are  made  of  the  Bog  Whortleberry,  V.  uliginbsurn, 
of  Europe,  which  is  inferior  in  flavor.  Of  the  leaves  of  this, 
with  Lycopbdlum  alpinum,  the  Icelanders  make  a  yellow  dye 
for  woollens. 

Most  of  the  whortleberries  in  New  England  change  their 
leaves  in  autumn  to  different  deep  shades  of  scarlet  and  crimson, 
contributing,  more  than  any  other  family,  to  the  peculiar  rich- 
ness of  coloring  w-hich  characterizes  our  woods  at  that  season. 

Sp.  1.     The  Black  Whortleberry.      V.  resinosum.     Aiton. 

A  shrub  from  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet  high,  rather  erect ; 
much  branched;  the  branches  slender,  and,  when  young,  pu- 
bescent. Stem  mahogany  color,  beneath  a  semi-transparent, 
pearly  epidermis.  Leaves  on  lateral  or  terminal  branches, 
with  short  petioles,  oblong-oval  or  elliptic,  very  entire,  mostly 
obtuse,  thin,  profusely  dotted  beneath  with  atoms  of  yellowish 
resinous  matter,  giving  a  yellowish  green  color  to  the  lower 
surface.     Flowers  on  short,  lateral  racemes,  with  minute,  lance- 


XX.     1.  THE  DANGLEBERRY.  399 

olate,  colored  bracts  near  the  base  of  the  stalks.  Calyx  yel- 
lowish green  from  the  resinous  dots ;  segments  acute ;  corolla 
small,  five-angled,  ovate,  conic,  contracted  at  the  mouth,  of  a 
dark,  dull  red,  with  sometimes  a  tinge  of  pale  yellow  below. 
Stamens  shorter  than  the  corolla.  Style  projecting  beyond  the 
corolla.  Stigma  capitate.  The  berries  are  globular,  of  a  shin- 
ing black  color,  and  sweet.  A  horizontal  section  shows  them 
to  have  ten  cells,  in  each  of  which  is  one  hard,  stony  seed ; 
only  two  or  three  of  the  whole  number  coming  to  perfection. 
This  fruit  is  more  firm  than  that  of  any  other  species,  and  is 
more  valued  in  market. 

The  common  variety  has  black,  shining  berries,  and  leaves 
green  on  both  surfaces. 

A  second  variety  has  similar  leaves  and  berries  covered  with 
a  blackish  or  brownish  bloom,  and  very  sweet. 

A  third  variety  has  somewhat  glaucous  leaves,  and  berries 
covered  with  a  glaucous  bloom. 

A  fourth  variety  has  larger  berries,  of  a  bluish  color,  with 
a  bluish  bloom,  and  very  rich  to  the  taste. 

There  are  other  varieties,  differing  in  color  as  in  fruit.  Those 
I  have  mentioned  are  the  most  strongly  marked. 

In  consequence,  apparently,  of  the  sting  of  some  insect,  the 
flower  of  this  whortleberry  sometimes  expands  to  twenty  or 
thirty  times  its  natural  size,  and  becomes  of  a  fleshy  texture, 
resembling  the  fungus-like  excrescence  common  on  the  Swamp 
Pink,  Rhododendron  viscbsum.  All  the  leaves  on  the  end  of  a 
branch  are  sometimes  affected  in  the  same  manner. 

This  whortleberry  is  found  on  rocky  hills,  and  flowers  in 
May.  It  occurs  from  Canada,  and  the  shores  of  Lake  Huron, 
to  the  mountains  of  Georgia. 

Sp.  2.     The  Dangleberry.      V.  frondbsnm.     L. 

This  is  easily  distinguished  by  its  loose  mode  of  flowering, 
and  its  large,  pale  leaves,  which  are  glaucous  beneath.  It  is  a 
spreading  bush,  three  or  four  feet  high,  with  a  crooked,  much 
branched,  light  ash-colored  stem.  The  recent  shoots  and  fruit- 
stalks  are  of  a  light,  pale  green,  or  of  a  pale  reddish  yellow ; 
the  branches  and  stem  of  a  mahogany  or  bronze  color,  unequally 


400        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

covered  with  a  pearly  epidermis,  which  gives  it  an  ashy  color. 
The  leaves  are  on  very  short  petioles,  oblong,  elliptic,  or  obo- 
vate,  obtuse,  with  a  callous,  whitish  point,  revolute  on  the  mar- 
gin, lighter  beneath.  The  flowers  hang  dangling  on  slender 
strings  from  one  to  three  inches  long,  with  an  ovate  bract  at 
base,  and  two  minute  bracts  on  opposite  sides,  about  the  middle. 
The  calyx-segments  are  appressed  and  acute ;  the  corolla  a 
broad  bell,  like  that  of  the  lily  of  the  valley,  with  five,  short, 
angular  segments,  completely  refiexed.  The  style  is  as  long 
as  the  corolla;  the  stamens  considerably  shorter. 

The  fruit  is  large,  bluish,  rather  acid,  ripening  late.  It  is 
rarely  found  in  abundance ;  where  it  is  procured  in  sufficient 
quantities,  as  in  some  parts  of  Worcester  County,  it  is  used  for 
puddings.  This  species  comes  to  greater  perfection  in  a  warmer 
climate.  In  Pennsylvania,  its  berries  are  preferred  to  those  of 
any  other  whortleberry. 

It  is  found  in  moist  situations,  by  the  side  of  lakes  and  on 
the  edges  of  woods. 

Sp.  3.     The   Bush   Whortleberry.      V.  dumbsiim.     Andrews. 

A  shrub  one  or  two  feet  high,  distinguished  for  its  shining 
leaves,  which  are  sessile,  broad-lanceolate  or  obovate,  wedge- 
shaped,  acute,  entire,  mucronate  or  ending  in  a  short,  abrupt, 
awl-like  point,  conspicuously  dotted  above  with  resinous  dots, 
and  set,  as  are  the  recent  shoots,  with  short,  numerous, 
glutinous  hairs,  which,  on  the  margin,  give  it  a  ciliate  ap- 
pearance. The  stem  and  older  branches  are  covered  with  an 
ash-colored,  roughish  bark ;  the  recent  branches  are  brownish, 
downy  and  somewhat  viscid  with  a  few  glandular  hairs.  Ra- 
cemes of  five  flowers,  leafy,  covered  with  the  same  glutinous 
hairs.  Each  pedicel  proceeds  from  the  axil  of  an  oval  leaflet, 
and  is  furnished,  about  its  middle,  with  one  to  three  bractiolas. 
The  segments  of  the  glandular  calyx  are  rather  large,  somewhat 
acute,  and  fringed.  Corolla  large,  wax-white,  often  with  a  tinge 
of  pink,  rounded  or  funnel-shaped,  remarkable  for  its  five  pro- 
minent, keel-like  angles,  with  the  segments  obtuse  and  recurved. 
Anthers  very  long,  brown,  cleft  nearly  to  their  base  into  two 
needle-like  threads,  resting  on  the  top  of  a  short,  fleshy,  white 


XXL     1.        HIGH  BUSH  WHORTLEBERRY.  401 

filament.    Style  as  long  as  corolla.    Berries  large,  black,  crowned 
with  the  persistent  calyx. 

Found  at  Manchester,  rare.     Flowering  in  July. 

Sp.  4.     The  Deer  Berry.      V.  starnineum.     L. 

A  bush  about  two  feet  high,  with  numerous,  slender,  tapering, 
somewhat  downy,  green  branches,  which  afterwards  tarn  brown. 
The  leaves  are  oval  or  elliptic,  often  somewhat  heart-shaped  at 
base,  acute  at  the  end,  slightly  revolute  on  the  margin,  conspic- 
uously veined,  glaucous  and  somewhat  downy  beneath,  on  very 
short,  downy  footstalks.  The  largest  are  two  inches  long  and 
one  broad.  The  flowers  are  conspicuous  for  their  very  long, 
straight  anthers,  projecting  far  beyond  the  short,  spreading, 
white  corolla,  with  pointed  lobes :  at  the  base  of  each  flower- 
stem  is  an  ovate  leaf,  much  smaller  than  the  other  leaves. 
Berries  greenish,  afterwards  white,  pear-shaped.  Found  at 
Southampton  lead  mine  (Oakes),  and  elsewhere,  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State.  Flowers  in  May  and  June,  and  ripens  its 
scarcely  eatable  fruit  in  September. 

Sp.  5.     The  High  Bush  Whortleberry.     Swamp  Whortle- 
berry.     V.  corymbbsum.     L. 

A  shrub  from  four  to  eight  or  nine  feet  high,  forming  large, 
handsome  clamps  in  swamps  and  moist  woods,  and  maturing  its 
fruit  later  than  the  upland  species.  It  is  crowded  with  irregu- 
lar, straggling  branches,  which  are  downy  and  somewhat  angu- 
lar when  young.  The  bark  on  the  branches  and  stem  is  of  a 
bronze  or  copper  color,  bleached,  where  exposed  to  much  light, 
to  a  gray.  It  gradually  becomes  rough,  and  cleaves  off.  On  the 
smaller,  it  is  yellowish  green,  clouded  with  dark  purple,  and 
closely  scattered  with  whitish  dots.  The  leaves,  at  the  time  of 
flowering,  are  narrow,  lanceolate,  egg-shaped  or  inversely  egg- 
shaped,  or  elliptic,  and  often  very  downy  beneath,  and  pale  green 
or  purplish.  They  afterwards  become  much  broader,  without 
increasing  in  length;  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  but  somewhat 
downy  along  the  rnid-rib  and  often  on  the  primary  veins,  of  a  soft 
green,  paler  beneath.  The  short,  flower -bearing  branches,  the 
52 


402  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

growth  of  the  previous  year,  are  nearly  leafless.  The  flowers 
are  crowded  towards  the  extremity,  pendent  or  nodding,  in  short 
racemes,  on  stems  one  quarter  or  one  third  of  an  inch  long.  At 
the  base  of  each  stem  are  from  one  to  three  yellowish,  mem- 
branous bracts,  the  middle  one  broad,  hollow,  rounded.  The 
segments  of  the  calyx  project  a  little,  are  rather  acute,  and  glau- 
cous, with  a  reddish  edge.  The  corolla  is  very  large  and  showy, 
white,  often  tinged  with  purple,  nearly  cylindrical,  contracted 
at  the  mouth,  with  tooth-like,  spreading  segments.  The  fila- 
ments are  hairy,  as  long  as  the  anthers.  The  anthers  are  at- 
tached above  the  base,  the  terminal  distinct  tubes  opening  to- 
wards the  top  obliquely.  The  berries  are  large,  black,  with  a 
bluish  bloom,  sweet,  with  a  very  agreeable  acidulous  taste. 
The  flowers  appear  in  May  and  June,  and  the  fruit  ripens  in 
August  and  September. 

There  are  many  varieties,  differing  in  the  size  of  the  bush, 
which  changes  according  to  the  soil,  and  in  the  size  and  color 
and  shape  of  the  corolla. 

The  Black  Swamp  Whortleberry,  ( V.  disombrphum  of  Mi- 
chaux  and  Bigelow,)  has  leaves  smaller  and  later;  corolla  much 
smaller  and  crowded,  and  berries  very  black  and  shining, 
crowned  with  an  erect  calyx  ;  a  variety  with  narrower  and 
more  acute  leaves,  with  glandular  serratures. 

Sp.  6.    The  Blue  Whortleeerry.     V.  virgdtum.    Muhlenberg. 

A  shrub  from  one  to  three  feet  high,  distinguished  for  the  soft, 
light  green  of  its  leaves.  Branches  approaching  to  straight,  or 
less  crooked  than  in  the  previous  species.  Bark  of  the  twigs 
yellowish  green,  sometimes  clouded  with  dark  purplish,  very 
closely  set  with  whitish  dots,  sometimes  warts.  Leaves  on  the 
lower,  lateral  branches,  sessile,  broad  elliptic,  or  obovate  wedge- 
form,  with  a  brown  acuminatum;  waving,  reflexed,  often  ob- 
tusely denticulate,  smooth,  of  a  light  green,  often  purplish,  with 
a  glaucous  tinge,  lighter  beneath.  Flowers  on  terminal  and 
lateral  branchlets,  above  the  leaf-branches,  on  racemes,  with 
few  or  no  bracts,  or  fugacious  or  very  minute  bracts.  Teeth  of 
the  calyx  rather  acute,  standing  out,  often  red.    Corolla  ovate  or 


XXI.     1.  THE  LOW  BLUEBERRY.  403 

• 

cylindric,  yellowish  white,  often  tinged  with  red,  with  spreading 
segments.     Filaments  shorter  and  less  hairy  than  in  the  last. 

This  is  a  common  species,  growing  on  high  ground  and  most 
luxuriantly  in  the  openings  in  rocky  woods.  The  fruit  is  very 
sweet,  the  berries  large  and  covered  with  a  light  bluish  bloom. 
The  flowers  are  much  more  richly  colored  than  those  of  other 
species,  and  the  plant  has  a  more  elegant  appearance.  It  is 
distinguished  from  any  variety  of  the  last  species,  by  the  veins 
and  ribs  of  its  leaves  being  usually  perfectly  smooth.  It  is 
distinguished  at  once  from  the  next  species,  by  its  pale  green 
leaves  and  by  being  twice  as  high  or  more.  The  fruit-branches 
are  two  or  three  inches  long  or  more,  without  leaves,  sometimes 
several  together  on  a  stem,  so  that  a  large  part  of  the  plant 
seems  leafless,  but  covered  with  fruit.  The  flowers  open  in 
May  and  June ;  the  fruit  is  ripe  in  August. 

Sp.  7.     The  Low  Blueberry.     V.  Pennsylvanicum.    Lamarck. 

A  very  low  and  much  branched  undershrub,  covering  the 
ground  in  extensive  beds,  on  open,  level  pastures  or  in  high 
pine  woods.  The  branches  are  a  little  angular,  with  the  bark 
of  a  light  green,  closely  set  with  white,  raised  dots,  and  with  a 
hairy  line  running  down  on  each  side.  The  leaves  are  sessile, 
oval-lanceolate,  acute  at  both  ends,  thin,  finely  serrate,  shining 
on  both  surfaces,  with  the  margin  and  mid-rib  hairy  under  a 
microscope.  The  fascicles  of  flowers  are  terminal,  or  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  branches,  while  the  leaves  are  below.  The 
bracts  are  often  scarlet.  The  teeth  of  the  calyx  are  green,  acute, 
and  spreading ;  the  corolla  is  white,  often  with  a  reddish  tinge  ; 
style  equaling  or  surpassing  the  corolla  ;  filaments  short,  rather 
hairy.  The  berries  are  blue,  with  a  glaucous  bloom,  and  very 
sweet. 

From  its  situation  and  exposure,  the  berries  ripen  earlier  than 
those  of  any  other  species.  They  are  soft,  and  easily  bruised 
and  injured  in  bringing  to  market,  and  liable,  when  in  mass,  to 
speedy  decay.  They  are,  therefore,  less  valued  in  market  than 
those  of  some  other  species,  though  they  are  very  delicious  and 
not  liable  to  the  objection  which  is  made  to  the  black  whortle- 


404       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

berry  on  account  of  its  numerous,  stony  seeds.  They  are  par- 
ticularly suited  to  be  preserved  by  drying,  and,  when  prepared 
in  that  way,  are  equal  in  value  to  the  imported  currants,  as  an 
ingredient  in  cakes  and  puddings. 

There  is  a  variety  of  this  whortleberry  growing  in  the  same 
situations  and  forming  like  it  large  beds,  distinguished  by  its 
leaves  of  a  darker  green  and  shining  black  berries. 

This  lowest  and  earliest  of  the  blueberries  delights  in  a  thin, 
sandy  soil,  and  carpets  the  ground  in  the  openings  in  the  pitch 
pine  woods,  with  beds  of  rich,  soft  green,  which  in  May  and 
June  are  decked  with  a  profusion  of  beautiful  flowers  ;  in  July 
and  August  are  loaded  with  delicious  fruit,  and  in  October  turn 
to  a  deep  scarlet  and  crimson.  Its  rich,  tender  fruit  feeds  im- 
mense flocks  of  wild  pigeons  and  numberless  other  animals.  It 
is  a  peculiar  blessing  to  the  arid  and  otherwise  barren,  sandy 
plains,  and  helps  the  poor  inhabitants,  especially  in  seasons  of 
scarcity,  to  eke  out  their  bread-corn,  to  which  it  makes  a  whole- 
some and  most  agreeable  addition. 

Sp.  8.     The  Cowberry.      V.  vitis  idaza.     L. 

This  plant,  so  far  as  I  know,  occurs  in  only  one  spot  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, which  is  in  a  pasture  in  Danvers,  where  it  was 
found  by  Mr.  Oakes  in  1820,  or  before.  It  has  some  resemblance 
to  the  cranberry,  but  the  leaves  are  larger  and  the  branches 
larger  and  shorter.  It  has  a  creeping,  woody  root,  with  as- 
cending angular  branches  a  foot  or  more  long.  The  leaves  are 
coriaceous  and  shining,  like  those  of  box,  but  darker.  The 
flowers  are  pale  pink,  four-cleft  and  with  eight  stamens.  The 
berries  are  blood-red,  acid  and  austere.  In  the  north  of  Eu- 
rope, where  it  abounds,  it  is  used  as  the  cranberry,  but  is  infe- 
rior ;  formed  into  a  jelly,  it  is  thought  superior  to  currant  jelly, 
as  a  sauce  for  venison  or  roast  beef,  or  as  a  remedy  for  colds 
and  sore  throats. 


XXI.     2.         THE  COMMON  CRANBERRY.  405 


XXI.    2.     THE  CRANBERRY.     OXYCO'CCUS. 

Persoon. 

A  genus  of  three  North  American  species,  one  of  which  is 
also  European,  of  creeping  or  rarely  erect  plants,  with  small, 
alternate,  evergreen  leaves,  and  red  berries  of  a  pleasant,  but 
extremely  acid  taste.  The  calyx  is  four-toothed ;  the  corolla 
has  four  long,  narrow,  revolute  segments ;  the  stamens  are  eight, 
with  tubular,  two-parted  anthers ;  the  berry  is  four-celled  and 
many-seeded.  The  erect  species  grows  on  the  highest  moun- 
tains of  Carolina,  and  bears  transparent,  scarlet  berries,  of  an 
exquisite  flavor ;  the  other  two  species  are  found  here. 

Sp.  1.     The  Common  Cranberry.      O.  macrocarpus.     Pursh. 
Figured  in  Barton's  North  American  Flora,  I,  Plate  17. 

Stem  prostrate,  creeping,  near  the  surface  of  the  earth,  to  the 
distance  of  two  or  three  feet,  and  throwing  out  numerous, 
thread-like  roots.  Flowering  branches  erect,  with  flowers  and 
fruit  from  the  lower  part  of  the  shoot,  or  sarmentose,  and  erect 
at  the  extremity,  the  bark  on  the  older  shoots  shivering  off  in 
threads,  smooth,  or  sometimes  downy,  recent  ones  light  brown. 

Leaves  on  very  short  footstalks,  oval,  oblong,  entire,  or  with 
distant,  indistinct  teeth,  sometimes  minutely  downy  at  the  end 
when  young,  revolute  at  the  margin,  green  above,  whitish  be- 
neath, seldom  half  an  inch  long.  Flower-stalk  thread-like,  in 
the  axil  of  a  shortened  leaf,  an  inch  long,  reflected  at  the  end, 
downy,  with  two  small,  ovate,  pointed  bracts  at  the  flexure,  be- 
yond which  the  footstalk  is  more  attenuated,  downy  and  green. 

Flowers  nodding,  calyx  short,  persistent;  corolla  pale-red, 
very  long,  revolute ;  anthers  projecting,  very  long,  somewhat 
downy  below,  divided  above  into  two  tubes,  which  open  by  a 
somewhat  oblique  pore. 

Fruit  of  a  bright  scarlet  color,  globular  or  pear-shaped,  with 
the  four  blunt  teeth  of  the  calyx  adhering  to  it ;  four-celled,  with 
numerous  seeds  attached  to  the  central  division.  It  often  re- 
mains on  the  vine  through  the  winter,  so  that  it  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  find  flowers  and  mature  fruit  on  the  same  plant. 


406        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  cranberry  is  found  in  every  part  of  the  State,  in  large 
beds  in  boggy  meadows.  The  berries  are  gathered  in  great 
quantities,  and  used  for  making  tarts  and  sauce,  for  which  pur- 
pose they  are  superior  to  any  other  article,  especially  as  they 
have  the  advantage  of  being  kept  without  difficulty  throughout 
the  winter.  Their  quality  is  much  improved  by  being  allowed 
to  become  perfectly  ripe  on  the  vines.  Great  quantities  of  the 
berries  are  exported  to  Europe. 

Found  from  the  Arctic  sea-shore  to  New  Jersey,  and  from 
Newfoundland  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Sp.  2.     The  European  Cranberry.     O.  palustris.     Persoon. 

This  plant,  which  has  been  found  by  Mr.  Oakes  on  Nan- 
tucket, in  Pittsfield,  and  near  Sherburne,  has  so  near  a  resem- 
blance to  the  common  cranberry,  that  it  would  be  taken  by  most 
persons  for  a  small  variety  of  it.  It  is  distinguished  by  its  very 
small,  pointed  leaves,  rarely  a  fourth  part  of  an  inch  in  length, 
and  the  short  ovate  segments  of  the  corolla.  It  is  the  common 
cranberry  of  the  north  of  Europe,  where  it  grows  in  turfy, 
mossy  bogs,  particularly  on  mountains.  Its  berries  are  applied 
to  the  same  purposes  as  our  cranberry,  and  great  quantities  are 
sent  from  Russia  to  the  more  southern  countries. 

XXI.     3.     THE  MOUNTAIN  PARTRIDGE  BERRY. 
CHIOGENES.     Salisbury. 

A  North  American  genus  of  a  single  species.  "  The  limb  of 
the  calyx  is  four-cleft;  the  corolla  broadly  campanulate,  deeply 
four-cleft;  stamens  eight,  included,  inserted  into  the  margin  of 
the  even  disk ;  filaments  very  short  and  thickened,  ovate,  gla- 
brous ;  anthers  of  two  ovate-oblong  cells,  fixed  by  the  base,  not 
awned  on  the  back;  each  2-cuspidate  at  the  apex,  and  opening 
longitudinally  along  the  inside  from  the  summit  to  below  the 
middle.  Ovary  four-celled,  free  only  at  the  convex  summit; 
style  slender.  Fruit  white,  crowned  with  the  limb  of  the  calyx, 
four-celled,  many  seeded." — A.  Gray:*  from,  the  manuscript  of 
the  N.  A.  Flora. 

*  I  owe  it  to  the  kindness  of  Prof.  Gray  that  I  have  been  allowed  to  copy  from 
his  manuscript,  the  above  generic  description,  which  fixes,  for  the  first  time,  the 


THE  TRUMPET  FLOWER  FAMILY.  407 

C.  hispidula.     Gray. 

An  evergreen  plant,  with  a  woody  stem,  creeping  on  the  earth 
or  beneath  the  decayed  leaves,  within  deep,  shady  woods,  and 
sending  out  numerous,  prostrate,  filiform  branches,  rough  with 
appressed,  ferruginous  bristles.  The  flowers  are  solitary,  on 
short,  recurved  stems,  in  the  axil  of  a  leaf,  with  two  ovate,  con- 
cave, hispid  bracts.  Calyx  of  four  pointed  segments,  surmount- 
ing the  ovary  and  forming  a  part  of  the  succulent  berry.  Co- 
rolla small,  white,  bell-shaped,  somewhat  four-sided.  Berry 
white,  eatable,  juicy,  and  of  an  agreeable  subacid  taste,  with  a 
pleasant  chequer -berry  flavor.  The  whole  plant  has  the  aro- 
matic taste  and  smell  of  Gaultheria  procumbens.  The  leaves 
are  about  one  third  of  an  inch  long,  nearly  orbicular,  acute  at 
the  end,  rounded  or  acute  at  base,  reflexed  at  the  margin,  smooth 
above,  paler  and  scattered  with  stiff  hairs  beneath. 

Flowers  in  May  and  June.  Mr.  Tuckerman  tells  me  that 
this  plant  is  abundant  on  the  sides  of  the  White  Mountains, 
where  it  forms,  with  its  creeping  stems,  large,  thin  mats,  beneath 
which,  when  lifted  up,  the  pleasant  berries  are  found  in  luxu- 
riant profusion.  This  plant  evidently  takes  its  place  between 
Oxycoccus  and  Gaultheria,  the  former  of  which  it  resembles  in 
habit,  the  latter  in  properties. 


The  Trumpet  Flower  Family,  Bignoniacece,  a  rather  large 
family  of  trees,  climbing  shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants,  with 
large,  trumpet-shaped,  showy  flowers,  contains  three  genera, — 
two  Trumpet  Flowers  Bignbnia  and  Tecbma  and  the  Catalpa, 
which  are  somewhat  extensively  introduced  as  ornamental 
plants,  but  are  not  found  growing  naturally  in  this  State,  nor 
probably  in  any  part  of  New  England. 

position  of  a  plant,  which,  ever  since  its  first  detection,  has  been  wandering  from 
genus  to  genus,  suing  in  vain  for  admittance  at  the  gates  of  four  old  genera  and 
two  new  ones,  and  at  last  obtaining,  from  his  faithful  examination  of  its  case,  a 
character,  a  habitation  and  a  home,  in  a  seventh. 


408       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PLANTS  WITH  THE  PETALS  AND  STAMENS  GROWING  FROM  THE  CALYX, 

EXCEPT  IN  CORNUS. 

FAMILY  XXII.     THE  CORNUS  FAMILY.     CORNA'CEJE. 

De  Candolle. 

This  family  contains  trees  or  shrubs  and  perennial  herbs, 
with  opposite,  rarely  alternate,  entire  leaves,  pinnately  veined 
and  without  stipules,  and  with  flowers  in  umbels  or  cymes. 
The  calyx  coheres  with  the  two-  or  rarely  three-celled  ovary, 
and  has  a  small,  four-toothed  border.  The  corolla  is  of  four 
deciduous  petals,  growing  from  the  top  of  the  calyx-tube  and 
alternate  with  its  teeth.  The  stamens  are  four,  alternate  with 
the  petals.  Fruit  a  two-,  rarely  three-celled  drupe,  with  solitary 
seeds,  and  crowned  with  the  remains  of  the  calyx.  The  plants 
of  this  family  are  found  in  the  temperate  and  cooler  regions  of 
both  continents,  particularly  in  North  America  and  Nepaul. 
None  of  the  family  are  hurtful.  They  are  generally  bitter  and 
astringent;  and  the  bark  and  leaves  of  several,  particularly  of 
Comus  Jiorida  and  C.  sericea,  have  been  used  with  efficacy  in 
fevers.  The  berries  of  some  species,  as,  for  example,  of  C. 
Canadensis,  are  edible,  but  not  very  pleasant.  The  wood  of 
the  cornels  is  hard  and  close-grained,  and  is  used  in  Europe  for 
cogs,  in  mill-wheels,  and  for  other  small  articles  formed  by  the 
turner  ;  and  in  this  country  as  a  substitute  for  box-wood. 

XXII.     THE   CORNEL.     CO'RNUS.     Tournefort. 

Shrubs  or  small  trees,  with  entire,  deciduous  leaves,  minutely 
rough  with  appressed,  bicuspidate  hairs,  and  white  or  rarely 
yellow  flowers.  The  trunk  is  sometimes  subterraneous,  throw- 
ing up  annual,  herbaceous  branches.  There  are  about  twenty 
species,  of  which  eleven  are,  according  to  Torrey  and  Gray, 
found  in  America,  north  of  Mexico,  two  are  found  in  Mexico, 
three  in  Nepaul,  one  in  Japan,  two  are  common  to  Europe  and 


XXII.  ALTERNATE-LEAVED  CORNEL.  409 

Asia,  and  one  is  found  in  all  the  northern  parts  of  both  con- 
tinents. The  bark  is  very  bitter  and  tonic.  Hardy  plants, 
some  of  themhighly  ornamental,  easily  propagated  by  seed,  by 
suckers,  or  by  layers  or  cuttings. 

Section  First. — Flowers  in  cymes,  without  an  involucre* 
Sp.  1.      The  Alternate-leaved  Cornel.      C.  altemifblia.      L. 

A  beautiful  shrub,  six  to  eight  feet  high,  sometimes  a  graceful 
small  tree  of  fifteen,  twenty,  or  even  twenty-five  feet,  throwing 
off,  at  one  or  more  points,  several  branches  which,  slightly  ascend- 
ing, diverge  and  form  nearly  horizontal,  umbrageous  stages  or 
flats  of  leaves,  so  closely  arranged  as  to  give  almost  a  perfect 
shade.  It  is  distinguished  from  the  other  species  by  having  its 
leaves  and  branches  alternate.  Recent  shoots  of  a  shining 
light  yellowish  green,  with  oblong,  scattered,  lenticellar  dots. 
The  older  branches  of  a  rich,  polished  green,  striate  with  gray, 
the  striae  at  last  occupying  almost  the  whole  surface,  and  only 
at  intervals  allowing  the  then  purple  bark  to  shine  through. 
Leaves  alternate,  on  long,  round,  channelled  footstalks,  oval  or 
elliptic,  acute  or  wedge-shaped  at  base,  with  a  long  acumina- 
tion,  entire,  somewhat  revolute  at  the  margin,  dark  green,  shin- 
ing, deeply  channelled  above,  glaucous  or  hoary,  with  silken, 
bicuspidate  hairs  beneath. 

Flowers  in  an  irregularly  branched  head  or  cyme  ;  the  partial 
footstalks  not  rising  from  one  point,  as  in  others  of  this  genus, 
but  alternate  and  very  unequal ;  calyx  with  four  very  minute 
teeth,  and,  like  the  pedicels,  hairy.  Corolla  of  four  oblong, 
pointed,  white,  or  pale  yellow,  reflexed  segments ;  stamens 
four,  longer  than  the  corolla,  large,  tapering,  with  yellowish 
white  anthers;  style  short,  with  a  capitate  stigma.  Fruit 
blue-black. 

A  beautiful  plant,  with  a  great  variety  of  character.  Ic 
grows  naturally  in  moist  woods  or  on  the  sides  of  hills;  but 
when  cultivated,  flourishes  in  almost  every  kind  of  soil,  and 
even  in  very  dry  situations.  It  flowers  in  May  and  June,  and 
the  fruit  ripens  in  October. 
53 


410        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

It  is  sometimes  five  inches  in  diameter.  It  is  found  from 
Canada  to  Carolina,  and  westward  to  Kentucky. 

Sp.  2.     The  Round-leaved  Cornel.     C.  circinata.     L'Heritier. 

A  spreading  shrub,  usually  not  erect,  from  four  to  six,  some- 
times eight  or  ten  feet  high,  with  straight,  slender,  spreading 
branches.  Recent  shoots  green,  profusely  blotched  with  purple, 
and  verrucose  near  the  leaves  ;  older  shoots  pale  yellowish 
green  or  purplish,  thickly  dotted  with  prominent,  wart-like  dots, 
or  sometimes  smooth.  Branches  opposite,  spreading  at  a  large 
angle,  yellowish  green,  blotched  and  clouded  with  purple. 

Leaves  opposite,  nearly  round,  with  an  abrupt  acumination, 
rather  rough,  with  very  deeply  impressed  veins  above,  glaucous 
beneath  with  whitish  down,  veins  very  prominent.  The  lower 
and  terminal  leaves  on  the  fertile  stems,  are  very  large,  four  or 
five  inches  long  and  nearly  of  the  same  breadth ;  the  upper 
leaves  smaller  and  less  orbicular.  Flowers  in  terminal,  open, 
spreading,  rounded  cymes,  on  rather  short,  downy  stalks.  Pe- 
tals lanceolate  or  egg-shaped,  pointed,  white  ;  style  short,  stout, 
green,  persistent,  with  a  capitate  stigma.  Fruit  blue,  turning 
to  a  whitish  color.  It  flowers  in  May,  and  its  fruit  ripens  in 
October. 

Found  from  Canada  to  the  mountains  of  Virginia. 

Sp.  3.     The  Red-stemmed  Cornel.     C.  stolonifera.     Michaux. 

A  handsome  plant,  conspicuous  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  but 
especially  towards  the  end  of  winter,  for  its  rich  red,  almost 
blood-colored  stems  and  shoots.  The  main  stem  is  usually 
prostrate  upon  the  ground,  beneath  withered  leaves,  throwing 
down  roots  and  sending  up  slender,  erect  branches.  These 
sometimes  rise  to  the  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet,  but  usually  five 
or  six.  The  bark  is  smooth,  of  a  dark  purplish  or  sanguine  red, 
sparsely  scattered  with  large,  brown,  wart-like  dots.  The  leaves 
are  large,  ovate,  rounded  at  base,  suddenly  tapering  to  a  short 
point,  roughish  on  both  surfaces,  whitish  beneath. 

The  fruit  is  white  or  lead-colored.  Nuttall  says,  "  The  fruit 
of  this  species,  though  bitter  and  unpalatable,  is  eaten  by  the 


XXII.  THE  SILKY  CORNEL.  411 

savages  of  the  Missouri,  from  whence  it  (the  plant)  seems  to 
extend  across  the  continent  and  appears  again  in  Siberia." 
Torrey  and  Gray  show  that  the  Siberian  plant  is  another  spe- 
cies, C.  alba. 

It  occurs  plentifully  in  swamps  in  Berkshire ;  and  is  found 
from  Newfoundland,  through  Canada  and  the  Northern  States 
to  latitude  42°,  and  west  to  Ohio.— Fl  N.  A.,  I,  650. 

Sp.  4.     The  Panicled  Cornel.     C.  paniculata.     L'Heritier. 

A  slender  plant,  from  four  to  eight  feet  high,  growing  by  the 
borders  of  fields  and  woods,  in  dry  situations,  and  along  the  banks 
of  streams  and  on  hill-sides,  and  making  a  beautiful  appearance 
when  in  flower.  It  has  an  upright  stem,  and  slender,  erect,  oppo- 
site branches,  covered  with  a  grayish  bark.  The  recent  shoots 
are  of  a  pale  yellowish  green  with  a  brown  tinge,  sparsely  dot- 
ted with  brown.  The  leaves  are  ovate-lanceolate,  tapering  at 
base,  and  ending  in  a  fine  long  point,  on  short  footstalks  doubly 
channelled  above.  On  both  surfaces,  are  visible,  with  a  magni- 
fier, numerous  close-pressed,  minute  hairs.  The  under  surface 
is  whitish.  The  cymes,  or  heads  of  flowers  are  very  numer- 
ous, on  long,  slender,  pale  yellow  stems,  with  irregular  branches. 
The  calyx-tube  is  covered  with  a  white,  silky  down,  and  ends 
in  minute,  recurved,  hairy  teeth.  The  margin  of  the  ovary, 
which  fills  the  cup,  is  purple  or  red.  The  petals  pointed,  lance- 
shaped,  white.  Stamens  erect,  white.  Style  club-shaped.  The 
fruit  is  pale  white,  small,  depressed,  globose,  like  an  apple,  the 
short  style  standing  in  the  terminal  cavity. 

Flowers  in  May  and  June.  Fruit  matures  in  August  and 
September,  when  the  fruit-stalk  is  of  a  delicate  pale  scarlet. 

Sp.  5.    The  Silky  Cornel.      C.  sericea.     L. 

A  showy,  erect  plant,  somewhat  spreading,  growing  along 
the  banks  of  streams,  and  in  wet  meadows  and  on  moist  hills, 
by  fences,  five  to  ten  feet  high.  The  branches  and  upper  part 
of  the  stem  are  purple,  sprinkled,  on  the  older  stocks,  with  rusty 
gray,  and  often  entirely  gray  or  brown.  Recent  shoots  green, 
or  purplish  green,  and,  with  the  leaf-  and  fruit-stalks,  usually 


412        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

invested  with  a  silky  down,  especially  above,  but  sometimes 
almost  smooth. 

The  leaves  are  opposite,  two  or  three  inches  long,  sometimes 
more,  but  less  than  half  as  broad,  ovate-lanceolate,  oblong  or 
elliptic,  rounded  or  tapering  at  base,  ending  in  a  rather  long 
point.  They  are  dark  green,  entire,  nearly  smooth  or  with  a 
few  hairs  above,  paler,  with  ferruginous  hairs,  particularly  on 
the  mid-rib  and  veins  beneath.  The  footstalk  is  half  an  inch 
long,  round,  plain  and  purple  above,  hairy.  The  shoots  from 
the  root  are  green  and  downy,  and  bear  larger  and  rather 
smoother  leaves.  The  upper  leaves,  particularly  those  next  the 
flower-stalk,  are  very  broad,  those  below  and  on  the  other 
branches,  longer  and  narrower. 

The  cymes  are  terminal,  numerous,  on  round  footstalks,  an 
inch  or  more  in  length,  silky  or  downy,  flat  or  hollow  above, 
not  large.  Calyx  oblong,  downy,  with  long,  lanceolate,  acute, 
greenish  segments ;  petals  tapering,  bluntly  pointed,  yellow 
without,  white  within.  The  stamens  are  as  long  as  the  petals 
or  longer,  bearing  large  anthers.  The  style,  which  proceeds 
from  a  purple  ovary,  is  large  and  ends  in  a  head. 

But  little  of  the  fruit  is  matured.  The  berries,  particularly 
the  abortive  ones,  retain  the  four  lanceolate  segments  of  the 
calyx  and  the  capitate  style. 

The  bark  of  the  silky  cornel  possesses,  according  to  Dr.  Bar- 
ton, the  same  properties  as  that  of  the  Flowering  Dogwood, 
and  has  often  been  successfully  used  as  a  substitute  for  Peruvian 
bark. 

This  plant  is  very  abundant  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  State.  It  occurs  from  Canada  to 
Georgia  and  Louisiana.  It  flowers  in  May  and  June,  and  ripens 
its  fruit  in  September. 


XXII.  THE  FLOWERING  DOGWOOD.  413 


Section  Second. —  Trees,  with  flowers  in  heads,  surrounded  by 
whorls  of  colored,  petal-like  leaves. 

Sp.  G.     The  Flowering  Dogwood.     C.  florida.     L. 

Fruit  and  leaves  figured  in  Abbott's  Insects  of  Georgia,  II,  Plate  73.  Repre- 
sented in  Audubon's  Birds,  in  flower,  I,  Plate  8  ;  in  fruit,  I,  Plate  73  ;  the 
leaves,  II,  Plate  122.  Michaux,  Sylva,  leaves,  flowers  and  ripened  fruit, 
I,  Plate  48.     Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  Plate  28. 

The  Flowering  Dogwood  is  the  most  beautiful  and  showy 
of  its  genus.  The  flowers  are  very  numerous,  and  when  they 
are  expanded  in  May,  the  tree  is  conspicuous  at  a  great  dis- 
tance, shining  through  the  woods,  or  showing  like  a  flower 
among  the  green  delicate  foliage.  It  is  a  round-headed,  small 
tree,  usually  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high,  but  often  rising  to 
twenty-five  or  thirty,  with  a  diameter  of  nine  or  ten  inches. 
The  recent  shoots  are  of  a  grayish  or  purplish  green,  covered 
with  a  fine,  soft,  dusty  down ;  those  of  the  previous  year  are 
purple,  marked  with  rings,  afterwards  becoming  a  light  gray, 
which,  in  the  larger  branches,  is  closely  striate  with  brown. 
The  stem  is  rough,  with  short,  broken  ridges,  produced  by 
crooked  furrows,  between  which  the  bark  is  sometimes  divided 
in  a  somewhat  regular  manner  into  small,  square,  polygonal,  or 
roundish  plates. 

The  leaves  are  large,  four  or  five  inches  long,  and  two  or  three 
wide,  of  a  round-oval  form,  with  an  abrupt,  prolonged  termina- 
tion, and  abruptly  tapering  at  base  to  a  short,  channelled  foot- 
stalk. They  are  entire,  smooth  above,  with  depressions  at  the 
nerves,  whitish  beneath,  hairy  along  the  mid-rib  and  veins, 
and  with  scattered,  bicuspidate  hairs  between. 

In  May,  or  the  beginning  of  June,  it  is  decked  with  a  profu- 
sion of  large,  showy,  white  flowers,  forming  a  conspicuous  orna- 
ment of  the  early  summer  woods. 

The  flowers  are  at  the  ends  of  the  branches,  supported  by  a 
club-shaped  footstalk.  They  are  twelve  or  more  in  a  head,  sur- 
rounded by  a  whorl  of  four  large,  floral  leaves,  usually  taken 
for  the  flower  and  constituting  its  principal  beauty.  Each  floral 
leaf  is  petal-like,  nerved,  obovate,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  round- 


414        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ed  at  the  end,  and  notched  by  the  elevation  of  the  hard,  colored 
point,  about  which  is  often  a  shade  of  flesh-color  or  purple.  The 
individual  flowers  are  very  small,  sessile,  crowded  on  a  common 
receptacle,  with  a  few  minute,  rounded  scales  at  their  base.  A 
calyx  of  one  green  piece,  investing  the  ovary  and  ending  in  four 
obtuse  teeth,  contains  four  slender,  reflexed,  oblong,  fugacious, 
greenish-yellow  petals,  four  erect  stamens  with  oblong  anthers, 
and  a  persistent,  capitate  style,  somewhat  shorter,  rising  from 
a  brownish,  circular  disk. 

The  fruit  is  in  bunches  on  the  enlarged,  club-shaped  footstalk, 
of  a  bright  scarlet,  oblong-egg-shaped,  crowned  with  the  dark 
purple  calyx.  They  are  bitter  and  unpleasant,  but,  when  touched 
by  the  frost,  help  to  furnish  food  to  the  robin  and  other  birds 
that  remain  with  us  during  winter.  At  the  time  of  maturity, 
they  appear  in  the  fork  of  two  opposite  branchlets,  which  end  in 
the  casket-shaped  flower-bud  of  the  succeeding  year. 

The  leaves  early  begin  to  change  to  a  purple,  and  turn  to  a 
rich  scarlet  or  crimson  above,  with  light  russet  beneath,  or  to 
crimson  on  a  buff  or  orange  ground  above  with  a  glaucous  pur- 
ple beneath.  These,  surrounding  the  shining  scarlet  bunches 
of  berries,  make  the  tree  as  beautiful  an  object  at  the  close  of 
autumn  as  it  was  in  the  opening  of  summer. 

The  Flowering  Dogwood  is  of  slow  growth,  and  the  wood 
is  hard,  heavy  and  solid,  of  a  fine,  close  texture,  and  suscep- 
tible of  a  beautiful  polish.  It  is  often  called  box-wood,  and  is 
employed  as  its  substitute,  and  for  the  handles  of  chisels,  ham- 
mers, and  other  instruments,  and  for  the  cogs  of  wheels,  and 
other  articles  made  by  the  turner. 

The  bark  is  very  bitter,  with  something  of  an  aromatic  taste. 
According  to  Dr.  Bigelow,  it  acts  on  the  human  system  as  a 
tonic,  an  astringent  and  an  antiseptic,  approaching  in  its  effects 
to  the  character  of  the  Peruvian  bark.  For  this  it  has  been 
substituted  and  employed  with  great  success  in  the  treatment 
of  intermittent  and  other  fevers. 

From  the  bark  of  the  smaller  roots  the  Indians  obtained  a 
good  scarlet  color.  The  smaller  branches,  stripped  of  their  bark 
and  used  as  a  brush,  are  said  to  render  the  teeth  extremely 
white. 


XXII.  THE  DWARF  CORNEL,  415 


Section  Third. — Plants  with  herbaceous  stems,  and  flowers  in 
an  umbel-like  cyme,  surrounded  by  a  petal-like  involucre. 

Sp.  7.    The  Dwarf  Cornel.    Bunch  Berry.   C.  Canadensis.    L. 
Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  164. 

A  handsome,  humble  plant,  growing  in  low,  damp  woods  and 
in  swamps,  conspicuous  in  May  and  June  for  its  showy,  white 
flowers,  and  in  autumn  for  its  round  bunches  of  red  berries. 

Stem  simple,  erect,  or  ascending,  four  to  six  inches  high, 
from  a  creeping  root,  square,  the  membranous  projection  of  the 
angles  formed  by  the  decurrent  base  of  the  leaves.  Leaves  op- 
posite, in  alternate  pairs.  Near  the  root  they  are  thin,  narrow, 
clasping,  membranous.  At  the  surface  is  a  pair  of  bract-like, 
purplish,  pointed  scales,  with  veins  of  deeper  purple,  one  quar- 
ter to  half  an  inch  long.  Above  is  a  larger  pair,  and  at  the  top 
is  a  pair  still  larger,  in  whose  axils  are  two  pairs  of  smaller 
leaves.  All  these  upper  ones  are  nearly  sessile,  rhomboidal, 
tapering  rapidly  to  a  point  at  each  extremity,  entire,  ribbed  or 
veined,  somewhat  hairy  above,  shining  and  of  a  lighter  green 
beneath.  Flowers  numerous,  very  small,  in  a  terminal  umbel, 
surrounded  by  four,  white,  roundish,  rhomboidal,  or  broad-ovate, 
pointed,  nearly  sessile,  expanded  bracts,  resembling  petals. 
Calyx  with  four,  minute  teeth.  Corolla  with  four,  oblong, 
pointed,  revolute  segments.  Stamens  four,  diverging,  bearing 
white  anthers.  Style  as  long  as  the  stamens,  purple,  surround- 
ed by  a  dark  purple  disk.  The  scarlet  berries  are  well  known 
to  children,  being  pleasant,  but  without  much  taste.  They  are 
sometimes  made  into  puddings.  But  their  chief  value  is  to  the 
birds,  as  they  seem  not  to  be  affected  by  the  frost,  and  remain 
on  the  stem  into  the  winter. 


416       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


FAMILY  XXIII.      THE  WITCH   HAZEL  FAMILY.     HAMA- 

MELASCEJE.     Lindley. 

A  family  embracing  shrubs  of  Madagascar,  Japan,  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  China,  and  North  America ;  an  iron- wooded 
tree  of  Persia  and  the  Caucasus  ;  a  poplar-like  tree  of  India,  and 
a  tree  with  the  aspect  of  a  cherry-tree,  of  Assam.  Alternate, 
deciduous  feather- veined  leaves;  a  bark  often  sprinkled  with 
stellate  pubescence;  deciduous  stipules;  small  axillary,  or  ter- 
minal white  or  pale  yellow  flowers  ;  a  calyx  four-  or  five-cleft ; 
petals  sometimes  wanting,  sometimes  four  or  five,  spirally  con- 
volute in  the  bud,  alternate  with  the  calyx-segments,  linear, 
deciduous ;  eight  or  ten  stamens,  four  or  five  fertile,  alternate 
with  the  petals,  with  anthers  opening  with  a  valve  sometimes 
deciduous,  four  or  five  scale-like  and  sterile,  (perhaps  petals) ; 
ovary,  adhering  to  the  calyx,  two-celled,  with  usually  solitary 
seeds,  and  two  styles;  a  leathery  or  woody,  two-beaked,  two- 
celled  capsule,  are  its  characteristics.  A  single  American  genus, 
Folhergilla,  wanting  petals,  has  fragrant  flowers,  with  numer- 
ous fertile  stamens.  Properties  unknown.  There  is  a  single 
genus  in  Massachusetts. 

THE   WITCH-HAZEL.     HAMAME^LIS.     L. 

Involucre  three-leaved,  three-flowered.  Calyx  deeply  four- 
parted,  invested  with  two  to  four  roundish  scales.  Petals  four, 
linear ;  stamens  four,  alternate  with  the  petals  ;  anthers  open- 
ing with  a  lid ;  scales  four,  opposite  the  stamens ;  capsule 
woody,  two-horned,  with  one  black,  shining  seed  in  each  of 
the  two  cells,  opening  at  top  by  two  elastic  valves.  Flowers 
sterile  or  fertile  on  one  or  different  plants. 

The  Common  Witch-Hazel.     H.  Virginiana.     L. 

Figured  in  Barton's  Flora,  III,  Plate  78.     Catesby's  Birds,  Plate  102. 

"  The  variegated  appearance  of  the  American  forests  during 
the  months  of  autumn,"  says  Dr.  Bigelow.  Fl.  61,  "  has  been 
repeatedly  noticed  by  travellers.     Among  the  crimson  and  yel- 


XXIII.  THE   COMMON   WITCH-HAZEL,  417 

low  hues  of  the  falling  leaves  there  is  no  more  remarkable 
object  than  the  witch-hazel,  in  the  moment  of  parting  with  its 
foliage,  putting  forth  a  profusion  of  gaudy,  yellow  blossoms, 
and  giving  to  November  the  counterfeited  appearance  of  spring. 
It  is  a  bushy  tree,  sending  up  a  number  of  oblique  trunks, 
about  the  size  of  a  man's  arm  or  larger." 

The  union,  on  the  same  individual  plant,  of  blossoms,  fading 
leaves,  and  ripe  fruits,  not  very  common  in  any  climate,  and 
occurring  in  no  other  instance  in  ours,  led  Linnaeus  to  give  to 
this  American  plant,  a  Greek  name  significant  of  the  fact  of  its 
producing  "  flowers  together  with  the  fruit." 

The  witch-hazel  is  usually  found  within  or  on  the  borders  of 
moist  woods,  or  among  the  scattered  trees  and  shrubs  which 
often  clothe  the  steep  banks  of  small  streams.  It  rises  to  the 
height  of  from  ten  to  twenty  feet.  In  Essex  woods,  Mr.  Oakes 
pointed  out  to  me  one  which  exceeded  twenty-two  feet,  and 
was  ten  inches  in  circumference.  The  stem,  which  is  seldom 
erect,  is  covered  with  a  brownish,  ash-colored,  rather  smooth 
bark;  the  branchlets  of  a  lighter  brown,  with  orange  dots. 
The  branches  are  long  and  pliant,  with  an  upward  curvature. 
The  secondary  branches  are  regularly  alternate  and  lateral, 
those  at  the  distance  of  one  third  its  length  from  the  end  of  a 
branch  being  longest.  The  leaves  are  lateral  and  alternate,  or 
collected  in  tufts  on  the  ends  of  the  branches.  They  are  on 
very  short  foot-stalks ;  irregularly  obovate  or  rhomboidal,  ine- 
quilateral, the  lower  side  larger,  lower  on  the  stalk  and  half- 
heart-shaped,  the  upper  side  narrower,  and  rounded  or  wedge- 
shaped  at  base ;  acuminate,  irregularly  toothed  or  sinuate,  the 
four  or  five  principal  veins  on  each  side  forming  large  teeth, 
downy,  at  last  smooth  above,  with  a  ferruginous,  stellate  pubes- 
cence on  the  mid-rib,  footstalk  and  veins  beneath,  the  upper 
surface  a  dull  green,  the  lower  brighter  and  more  shining. 
Stipules  lanceolate,  acute,  coriaceous,  half  as  long  as  the  foot- 
stalk, which  is  one  fourth  or  one  third  as  long  as  the  leaf.  At 
the  time  when  the  flowers  are  expanding,  the  leaves  become  of 
a  delicate  leather  yellow. 

The  flower-buds  are  already  formed  in  August.     The  flow- 
ers expand,   sometimes   as  early  as  September,  or  as  late  as 
54 


418        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

April,  but  usually  in  October  or  November,  and  stand,  three  or 
four  together,  nodding  on  the  end  of  a  brown,  downy  footstalk, 
one  quarter  or  one  third  of  an  inch  long,  in  the  axil  of  the 
falling  or  fallen  leaf,  from  an  involucre  of  three  to  five,  round, 
concave,  russet,  downy  scales.  Each  flower  is  supported  by  a 
single,  dark  brown,  ovate  scale,  like  the  scale  of  a  bud.  Within 
this  are  two  or  three  similar  scales  or  bracts,  surrounding  the 
calyx.  The  calyx  is  divided  into  four  segments,  russet  and 
downy  without,  and  yellow  within,  ovate,  rounded  and  ciliate. 
There  are  four,  long,  linear,  crumpled,  yellow  petals,  at  whose 
base,  within,  are  short,  incurved,  yellow  scales.  Alternate 
with  these  are  the  four  fertile  stamens,  curved  inwards,  and 
with  their  anthers  projecting  on  each  side  like  wings,  and  open- 
ing by  lids.  From  the  centre  diverge  two  short,  slender  styles, 
surmounting  the  downy,  ovate  ovary.  The  fruit  is  a  double 
nut,  invested,  below  the  middle,  by  the  persistent,  swollen, 
four-parted  calyx.  The  capsular  covering  bursts  elastically  in 
two,  disclosing  the  two  nuts  covered  with  shining,  blackish, 
crustaceous  shells. 

The  wood  is  white,  flexible,  and  of  a  fine,  close  texture. 
The  bark  has  the  reputation  of  having  efficacy  in  allaying 
pain,  and  is  said  to  have  been  applied  by  the  native  Indians  for 
that  purpose,  to  tumors  and  inflamed  surfaces.  They  also 
applied  a  poultice  of  the  inner  bark  to  remove  inflammation  of 
the  eyes. 

It  is  found  in  moist  woods,  from  Canada  to  Louisiana. 

As  it  produces  flowers  late  in  autumn  and  even  in  winter,  it 
is  deserving  of  cultivation.  It  may  be  propagated  by  layers  or 
by  seed,  and  it  will  grow  readily  in  any  tolerable  soil,  in  a 
somewhat  moist  situation. 


XXIV.  THE  CURRANT  FAMILY.  419 


FAMILY  XXIV.     THE   CURRANT   FAMILY.     GROSSVLA'CEJE. 

De  Candolle. 

This  family  includes  only  one  genus,  which  comprehends  the 
Currants  and  the  Gooseberries.  They  are  either  spiny  or  un- 
armed shrubs,  natives  of  the  mountains,  hills,  woods  and  thick- 
ets of  the  temperate  regions  of  America,  Europe  and  Asia,  but 
unknown  within  the  tropics,  or  in  any  part  of  Africa.  They 
are  found  particularly  about  mountains.  Most  of  the  species 
produce  agreeable,  refreshing,  sub-acid  fruits.  The  Black  Cur- 
rant, Ribcs  nigrum,  a  native  of  Siberia  and  northern  Europe,  is 
cultivated  for  the  pleasant  tonic  and  stimulant  properties  pos- 
sessed by  a  jelly  made  of  its  ripe  fruit.  The  Red  Currant, 
Ribcs  rubrum,  found  wild  in  the  mountainous  woods  of  Britain 
and  other  northern  countries  of  Europe,  and  in  the  northern  part 
of  America,  and  the  White,  which  is  a  variety  produced  from 
this  by  cultivation,  are,  in  most  places,  justly  valued  for  their 
uses  in  cookery,  as  a  dessert,  and  as  affording  a  cooling  and 
wholesome  drink.  The  common  Gooseberry,  R.  uva  crispa  or 
grossularia,  a  native  of  the  same  regions,  but  hardly  known  in 
gardens  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  while  the  size  and  richness 
of  its  fruit  are  the  pride  of  English,  especially  Lancashire  horti- 
culture, is  generally  but  rather  unsuccessfully  cultivated  here 
for  its  use  in  tarts  and  pies,  and  sometimes  as  a  dessert.  The 
Missouri  Currant,  R.  aureum,  has  been  introduced  on  account 
of  the  luxuriance  of  its  growth  and  the  beauty  and  fragrance 
of  the  flowers ;  and  another  from  California,  R.  speciosum, 
which  has  been  erected  into  the  genus  Robsonia,  deserves  to 
be  introduced. 

Fifty-three  distinct  species  are  described  by  De  Candolle: — 
Prodromns,  III,  477 — 483 ;  sixty-six  in  Don's  Gardening,  III, 
177—192 ;  twenty-eight  in  the  Flora  of  North  America,  I,  544 
— 553,  as  natives  of  this  country,  several  of  which  latter  are 
not  •  led  by  the  writers  ab  >ve-named 

Characters  of  the  Family  and  of  the  Genus. — Calyx  adher- 
ing to  the  ovary,  bell-shaped  or  tubular,  colored,  marcescent, 


420        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

5-  (rarely  4-)  cleft;  at  length  spreading  or  reflexed.  Petals 
distinct,  small,  alternate  with  the  segments  of  the  calyx,  and 
growing  from  its  throat.  Stamens  alternate  with  the  petals ; 
anthers  turned  inwards.  Ovary  1-celled,  with  numerous  ovules. 
Styles  2,  (very  rarely  3  or  4,)  distinct  or  united.  Fruit  a 
berry,  crowned  with  the  remains  of  the  flower,  1-celled,  many- 
seeded.  Seeds  suspended  by  long  threads.  Embryo  minute, 
situated  in  the  sharper  extremity.  Leaves  alternate,  palmately 
veined  and  lobed,  without  stipules,  sometimes  sprinkled  with 
resinous  dots.  Flowers  in  racemes. — Flora  of  N.  A.,  I,  544. 
D  C,  Prodromus,  III,  477. 

There  are  four  species  of  gooseberry  and  two  of  currant  found 
native  in  Massachusetts,  of  which  the  specific  characters  are  , 
taken,  with  slight  changes,  from  the  N.  A.  Flora,  as  I  have  not 
been  able  sufficiently  to  study  and  compare  the  species  for  my- 
self. 

Sp.  1.     The  Prickly  Gooseberry.     R.  cynosbati.     L. 

Stems  either  unarmed  or  prickly  ;  sub-axillary  spines  1 — 3  ;  leaves  cordate, 
roundish,  3 — 5-lobed,  more  or  less  pubescent,  the  lobes  cut-serrate  ;  racemes 
few-flowered,  the  pedicels  divaricate  ;  tube  of  the  calyx  cylindrical,  very  broad 
and  short,  slightly  contracted  at  the  mouth  ;  the  segments  reflexed  ;  stamens 
and  style  slightly  included;  style  undivided,  hairy  at  base;  fruit  prickly  or 
rarely  unarmed.—  Flora,  N.  A.  546.     Bigelow,  91.     D  C,  III,  479. 

Woods  and  hill-sides  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Kentucky,  and 
west  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  near  the  sources  of  the  Platte. 
— Fl. 

Sp.  2.    The  Common  Wild  Gooseberry.    R.  hiriUlwm.  Michaux, 

Stems  prickly  or  naked  ;  sub-axillary  spines  usually  solitary  and  very  short ; 
leaves  roundish,  cordate,  3 — 5-lobed,  toothed,  pubescent  beneath;  peduncles 
very  short,  deflexed,  1 — 3-flowered  ;  calyx-tube  bell-shaped,  smooth,  hairy  at 
the  throat  within  ;  the  segments  twice  the  length  of  the  petals,  nearly  equalling 
the  stamens  and  2-cleft  hairy  style  ;  fruit  smooth. — Flora,  N.  A.,  R.  triflorum, 
Bigelow,  90. 

The  recent  shoots  are  green,  shining,  brownish  or  ashen, 
afterwards,  when  older,  dark  purple,  the  cuticle  peeling  off  and 
leaving  the  stem  unarmed.  Usually  3  prickles  are  found  at  the 
base  of  each  leaf. 


XXIV.  THE  SWAMP  GOOSEBERRY.  421 

Found  in  rocky  places  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Massachusetts, 
and  west  to  Lake  Superior. — Fl. 

Sp.  3.     The  Round-leaved  Gooseberry.    R.  rotundifoUiim.    L. 

Stem  not  prickly ;  sub-axillary  spines  short,  usually  solitary  ;  leaves  round- 
ish, 5-lobed,  nearly  glabrous,  shining  above;  the  lobes  short  and  obtuse,  in- 
cisely  toothed  ;  fruit-stalks  slender,  1 — 2-flowered,  glabrous  ;  calyx  cylindrical 
and  narrow,  glabrous,  as  well  as  the  ovary  ;  the  segments  linear-oblong,  a  little 
spreading,  twice  the  length  of  the  tube  ;  filaments  projecting,  glabrous,  twice 
or  thrice  the  length  of  the  broadly  spatulate,  unguiculate  petals  ;  anthers  round- 
ish ;  style  deeply  2-parted,  as  long  as  the  stamens,  hairy  below  ;  fruit  small, 
smooth. — Flora,  N.  A.,  I,  547, 

Flowers  in  June.  A  shrub  3  or  4  feet  high,  with  spreading,  recurved 
branches  ;  the  spines  occasionally  absent.  Leaves  small,  truncate  or  slightly 
cordate  or  often  a  little  cuneiform  at  the  base  ;  the  lower  surface,  as  well  as 
the  short  petioles,  often  somewhat  pubescent.  Fruit  about  the  size  of  ihe  black 
currant,  at  length  purple,  delicious. — Flora,  N.  A. 

No  native  gooseberry  promises  so  much  as  this.  The  intro- 
duced species  often  refuses  to  flourish  in  our  gardens,  even  with 
careful  cultivation.  It  is  not  perfectly  adapted  to  our  soil  and 
climate.  But  this  native  one  is,  and  if  the  art  of  cultivation 
can  make  as  great  a  difference  in  it  as  has  been  made  in  the 
wild  European  gooseberry,  the  fruit  will  be  the  finest  of  the 
kind  in  the  world.  The  cultivated  species,  on  its  cold,  northern, 
native  mountains,  is  small,  hard,  hairy  and  acerb.  Cultivation 
points  at  its  large,  beautiful,  firm,  sweet,  delicious  fruit,  as  the 
triumph  of  art.  This  change  has  been  produced  by  long  and 
careful  culture.  What  may  not  be  made,  by  similar  efforts,  of 
a  fruit  perfectly  suited  to  our  climate,  which,  in  its  natural  state, 
is  pronounced  delicious  ! 

Found  in  mountainous  and  rocky  places  from  Massachusetts 
to  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  and  west  to  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

Sp.  4.     The  Swamp  Gooseberry.     R.  lacustre.     Poiret. 

Young  stems  very  prickly  ;  sub-axillary  spines  several,  weak  ;  leaves  cordate, 
3 — 5-parted  ;  the  lobes  deeply  incised  ;  racemes  5 — 9-flowered,  loose  ;  calyx 
rotate;  stamens  about  the  length  of  the  petals;  style  short,  glabrous,  2-cleft; 
ovary  glandular,  hairy  ;  fruit  small,  hispid. — Flora,  N.  A. 

In  mountain  swamps.     Flowers  in  June.     Stems  3  or  4  feet  high.     Petioles 


422       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

hairy.  Peduncles  slender,  nodding,  pubescent.  Fruit  dark  purple,  unpleasant 
to  the  taste.  This  species  differs  from  the  other  native  gooseberries  in  its 
many-flowered  racemes. — Flora. 

Dr.  Bigelow  describes  it  as  a  handsome  shrub  with  dissected  leaves.  The 
older  branches  are  smooth,  with  one  or  more  deflexed,  axillary  spines.  Young 
branches  hispid,  with  small,  reflexed  prickles.  Petioles  slender,  villous,  with 
scattered  hairs.  Leaves  deeply  5-lobed  ;  the  lobes  cut  and  toothed  like  those 
of  some  geraniums. — Florula,  91. 

Striking  for  its  very  deeply  cut  leaves. 

Found  in  mountainous  swamps  from  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  north  to 
near  the  Arctic  circle  ;  and  in  the  mountains  of  Oregon  and  California. — Flora. 

Sp.  5.  The  Large -flowering  Currant.  R.  Jioridum.  L'Heritier. 

Leaves  sprinkled  on  both  sides  with  resinous  dots,  sharply  3 — 5-lobed,  sub- 
cordate;  the  lobes  acute,  doubly  serrate  ;  racemes  pendulous,  pubescent ;  bracts 
linear,  longer  than  the  pedicels;  calyx  tubular-bell-shaped,  glabrous;  the  seg- 
ments oblong-spatulate,  about  the  length  of  the  tube  ;  style  undivided  ;  fruit 
ovoid-globose,  black,  glabrous. — Flora,  N.  A.,  I,  549. 

Dr.  Bigelow  says  of  it :  This  is  a  common  wild  currant,  having  its  leaves 
generally  in  five  lobes,  toothed  at  the  edge  and  covered  on  both  surfaces  with 
small,  whitish,  glandular  points,  just  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  Petioles  fringed 
with  compound  hairs.  Racemes  pendulous,  downy,  many-flowered.  Calyx 
tubular-campanulate,  with  recurved  segments.  Petals  greenish-white,  straight, 
a  little  reflexed  at  point.  Fruit  black,  watery  and  insipid.  "Woods.  May. — 
Florula,  90. 

Found  in  woods  from  Canada,  in  latitude  54°,  to  Virginia  and  Kentucky. — 
Flora. 

Sp.  6.     The  Mountain  Currant.     R.  prostrdlum.     L'Heritier. 

Stems  reclined  ;  leaves  deeply  cordate,  glabrous,  5 — 7-lobed  ;  the  lobes 
somewhat  ovate,  acute,  incisely  doubly  serrate;  racemes  erect,  slender ;  bracts 
small,  much  shorter  than  the  bristly,  glandular  pedicels;  calyx  rotate,  the  seg- 
ments obovate  ;  style  deeply  2-cleft ;  petals  spatulate,  very  small ;  ovaries  and 
fruit  clothed  with  glandular  bristles  ;  fruit  roundish,  red. — Flora,  N.  A.  549. 

Dr.  Bigelow  describes  it :  Stem  procumbent,  rooting.  Leaves  mostly  five- 
lobed,  toothed,  smooth  on  both  sides,  the  veins  of  the  younger  ones  pubescent 
beneath.  Racemes  erect,  the  peduncles  and  germ  covered  with  glandular  hairs. 
Calyx  hemispherical,  the  segments  patulous,  greenish  with  purple  strke.  Pe- 
tals wedge-shaped,  shorter  than  the  calyx.  Stamens  converging,  anthers 
black.     Style  as  long  as  the  stamens,  bifid.     Berries  hairy. 

The  berries  when  bruised  have  the  odor  of  Skunk's  Cabbage. —  Fit  rula,  90 

Found  on  hills  and  rocky  places  from  Newfoundland,  and  throughout  Can- 
ada, from  latitude  57°,  to  Pennsylvania,  and  west  to  Lake  Superior  and  the 
Rocky  Mountain?. — Flora. 


XXV.  THE  CACTUS  FAMILY.  423 


FAMILY  XXV.     THE  CACTUS  FAMILY.      CACTACEJE. 

Perennial,  shrub-like  or  arborescent  plants,  of  peculiar  appear- 
ance and  structure.  The  root  is  woody  and  fibrous.  The  trunk 
hemispherical,  or  cylindrical,  branched  or  jointed,  angular,  rib- 
bed, winged,  or  with  mammillary  projections,  or  plane; — fleshy, 
with  a  thick,  mostly  green,  smooth  bark,  and  interspersed  with 
few  or  numerous  woody  fibres.  The  leaves  are  usually  want- 
ing and  their  place  supplied  by  bundles  of  thorns.  The  flowers, 
often  large,  splendid  and  fragrant,  consist  of  a  calyx  of  many 
divisions,  partly  colored  and  petal-like,  proceeding  from  the  ex- 
terior of  the  ovary  and  passing  by  imperceptible  gradations  into 
the  petals,  which  are  very  numerous,  and  arranged  spirally  or 
in  several  series.  Within  these,  and,  like  them,  proceeding  from 
the  lining  of  the  calyx-tube,  are  the  numerous,  slender  stamens. 
The  base  of  the  calyx  is  the  1 -celled  ovary,  containing  a  great 
number  of  ovules  attached  to  seed-nourishing  projections  from 
the  walls.  The  style  is  single,  and  terminates  in  3  or  more 
stigmas.  The  fruit  is  a  fleshy,  umbilicated  berry,  in  the  pulp 
of  which  the  numerous  seeds,  enclosed  in  a  double  integument, 
nestle.  The  fruit  is  pleasantly  acidulous,  eatable,  and,  in  its 
native  tropical  climates,  grateful. 

De  Candolle  enumerates  about  180  species,  all  indigenous  to 
America,  and  most  of  them  to  the  warmest  regions,  where  they 
delight  in  warm,  arid  situations,  exposed  to  the  sun.  Some 
species  have  been  perfectly  naturalized  on  the  coast  of  the  Med- 
iterranean, and  many  are  cultivated  in  conservatories,  for  their 
singularity  or  the  extreme  beauty  of  their  flowers.  A  species 
of  cactus  is  sometimes  used  in  the  south  of  Europe  as  a  hedge. 
Another  species,  Opuntia  coccinillifera,  a  native  of  Mexico,  sus- 
tains the  cochineal  insect,  from  which  is  obtained  the  beautiful 
scarlet  of  such  importance  in  commerce. 

Some  species  are  found  on  the  sandy  wastes  at  the  foot  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.     A  single  species  occurs  in  Massachusetts. 


424       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


THE  INDIAN  FIG.     OPU'NTIA.     Tournefort. 

Shrubby  plants  with  articulated  branches;  the  joints  mostly 
compressed  and  dilated,  bearing  fascicles  of  prickles  or  bristles, 
arranged  in  a  quincuncial  or  spiral  order.  Flowers,  yellow  or 
red,  sessile,  arising  from  the  clusters  of  prickles,  or  along  the 
margin  of  the  joints.  Stamens  numerous,  shorter  than  the  pe- 
tals, somewhat  irritable.  Berry  tuberculate,  often  prickly,  eat- 
able.— Flora  of  N.  A.  Five  species  of  this  genus  are  found 
north  of  Mexico. 

The  Prickly  Pear.      O.  vulgaris.     Miller. 

An  erect,  or  prostrate,  creeping  plant,  with  articulated  stem, 
the  joints  from  two  to  four  inches  long,  very  fleshy  and  armed 
with  tufts  of  setaceous  spines.  The  flowers  are  large  and  grow 
from  the  margin  of  the  joints.  Petals  bright  yellow,  obovate, 
mucronate,  much  longer  than  the  calyx.  The  fruit  is  obovate, 
pulpy  and  edible ;  the  seeds  numerous,  small,  immersed  in  the 
crimson  pulp. 

My  friend  Thomas  A.  Greene  informs  me  that  he  found  this 
plant  growing  plentifully  at  Coatue  Point,  a  long,  narrow  pro- 
montory extending  towards  Nantucket  Harbor  from  the  east, 
and  accessible  only  at  low  water  or  in  a  boat.  It  was  so  near 
the  water's  edge  that  it  must  have  sometimes  been  overflowed 
by  the  sea.  "It  was  found  early  in  July,  and  was  then  in  full 
flower.  From  its  succulent  qualities,  it  remained  fresh,  and 
continued  to  put  forth  flowers  for  a  long  time,  though  thrown 
carelessly  by  in  the  door-yard.  One  of  the  plants,  after  lying 
thus  for  many  days,  was  transplanted  to  James  Arnold's  garden 
and  continued  to  live  several  years." 

Nantucket  is  in  north  latitude  41°  16',  and  this  is  the  most 
northerly  point  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  at  which  a  cactaceous 
plant  is  found  growing  naturally.  Mr.  Greene  has  seen  the 
same  species  growing  in  thin  soil  on  the  rocky  ledges  of  Man- 
hattan (New  York)  Island,  and  it  is  said  to  be  found  at  New 
Haven,  in  Connecticut,  It  is  found  also  in  New  Jersey,  and 
thence  to  Florida. 


XXVI.  THE  ROSE  FAMILY.  425 


FAMILY  XXVI.     THE  ROSE  FAMILY.     ROSA'CEJE.     Jussieu. 

This  family  includes  herbaceous  plants  or  shrubs  with  sim- 
ple or  compound,  alternate,  serrate  leaves,  having  2  stipules  at 
the  base  of  each.  It  embraces  the  true  Roses,  from  whence  its 
name,  the  Brambles,  Cinquefoils,  Strawberries,  Spirseas,  and 
numerous  other  plants  of  a  similar  character. 

The  flowers  are  regular  and  showy,  white,  red,  or  yellow, 
and  usually  disposed  in  cymes  or  corymbs.  The  calyx  has  4, 
or,  more  frequently,  5  divisions ;  the  corolla  has  as  many  pe- 
tals,— rarely  none, — alternate  with  the  divisions  of  the  calyx, 
and  inserted  on  the  edge  of  the  disk  which  lines  the  calyx-tube ; 
the  stamens  are  distinct,  numerous,  usually  some  multiple  of  the 
petals,  and  inserted  just  below  them  ;  fruit  various. 

They  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  temperate  or  cold  climates  of 
the  northern  hemisphere,  very  few  being  found  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  No  rosaceous  plant  is  poisonous,  and  many 
species,  particularly  the  Blackberry,  Raspberry  and  Strawberry, 
furnish  wholesome  and  delicious  fruit.  They  are  remarkable 
for  possessing  an  astringent  principle,  which  gives  to  some 
of  the  species  a  value  to  the  tanner,  and  renders  many  others 
useful  in  medicine  for  their  tonic  effect,  and  as  remedies  in  fever. 
The  roots  of  more  than  one  species  of  blackberry  are  well  known 
as  valuable  popular  medicine  in  diseases  affecting  the  digest- 
ive organs.  The  leaves  of  the  sweet  briar  and  of  a  species  of 
bramble  have  been  substituted  for  tea,  or  used  to  adulterate  tea. 
Under  cultivation,  and  indeed  in  a  wild  state,  plants  of  this 
family  are  remarkable  for  the  varieties  of  form  they  assume,  so 
that  the  species  run  into  and  are  confounded  with  each  other. 
Many  of  them,  especially  the  roses,  are  particularly  liable  to 
the  attacks  of  insects. 

As  an  ornamental  plant,  the  rose  has  been  longer  and  more 
deservedly  celebrated  and  valued  than  any  other;  and  for  the 
beauty  and  fragrance  of  its  flowers  it  has  still  no  rival. 

The  family  is  divided  into  several  tribes. 
55 


426        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


1.  THE  SPIILEA  TRIBE,  SPIRJ&A,  in  which  the  fruit  is  a  dry  seed- 
vessel  or  follicle. 

THE  HARD  HACK.     SPIRjEW.     L. 

The  spiraeas  are  shrubs,  or  herbs  from  perennial  roots,  with 
alternate  leaves,  and  white  or  rose-colored  flowers,  which  are 
formed  of  a  5-cleft,  persistent  calyx  ;  5  equal  petals ;  from  10 
to  60  stamens ;  5,  rarely  3  or  12,  ovaries,  which  become  so  many 
1-celled  follicles,  distinct  or  rarely  united  at  base,  and  contain- 
ing from  1  to  15  seeds.  There  are  about  fifty  species  of  this 
genus,  many  of  which  are  hardy  plants  of  great  beauty,  culti- 
vated extensively  in  the  gardens  of  Europe,  and  sometimes 
formed  into  hedges.  The  different  species  flower  successively 
from  spring  to  the  end  of  summer.  They  are  propagated  by 
dividing  the  roots,  by  suckers,  by  layers  or  by  seed.  The  root 
and  bark  generally  possess  astringent  and  tonic  properties,  and 
are  employed  in  medicine  and  in  tanning.  Thirteen  species  are 
found  in  North  America,  of  which  the  following  occur  here. 

Sp.  1.     The  Nine  Bark.     $.  opulifblia.     L. 

An  ornamental  shrub  from  five  to  seven  feet  high,  distin- 
guished for  the  abundance  of  its  showv  heads  of  flowers,  and  for 
its  conspicuous  fruit.  The  stem  is  rugged,  with  loose,  gray  bark, 
easily  detached  and  scaling  off.  The  recent  shoots  are  some- 
what angular,  and  green.  Leaves  on  short  footstalks,  ovate, 
rounded  at  the  end,  usually  with  two  large  lobes  about  or  below 
the  middle,  but  often  entire,  doubly  serrate  or  crenate,  the  serra- 
tures  rounded  and  callous.  Stipules  as  long  as  the  footstalk, 
oblong,  pointed.  Flowers  in  nearly  hemispherical  heads,  on  a 
short  stalk.  Each  flower  on  a  slender,  downy  thread.  Calyx 
5,  broad,  pointed  lobes.  Petals  round,  white,  with  a  rose  tinge. 
Stamens  very  numerous,  long,  with  short,  purple  anthers. 

It  is  found  from  Canada  to  Georgia  and  Missouri,  and  as  far 
west  as  Oregon  and  California. 

This  showy  plant  may  be  made  to  grow  any  where,  in  wet 
ground  or  dry,  by  cuttings  thrust  almost  without  care  into  the 
ground. 


XXVI.  THE  STEEPLE  BUSH.  427 

I  have  not  found  it  growing  wild  in  this  State,  but  as  it  is 
found  north  and  south  of  us,  it  may  hereafter  be  found  here. 
It  is  much  and  deservedly  cultivated  as  an  ornamental  plant. 

Sp.  2.     The  Queen  of  the   Meadows.     Meadow  Sweet. 

&  sallcifolia.     L. 

A  smooth,  slender,  leafy  shrub,  from  two  to  six  feet  high, 
abounding  in  wet,  and  rarely  growing  in  dry  places.  Stem  of  a 
polished  copper  red,  lighter  above,  closely  set  with  leaves  below, 
and  terminating  in  a  roundish  head  of  white  flowers.  Leaves 
lanceolate  or  rarely  obovate-lanceolate,  usually  acute  at  each  ex- 
tremity, sometimes  obtuse,  on  a  short  and  slender  petiole,  sharply, 
sometimes  doubly  senate,  of  nearly  the  same  color  above  and 
beneath,  thin.  The  terminal  panicle  is  crowded  with  single, 
close-set  flowers  above,  and  branches  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves 
below,  each  sustaining  a  roundish  bunch  *©f  flowers.  Partial 
flower-stalks,  thread-like,  with  usually  a  slender  bract  at  base. 
The  segments  of  the  calyx  are  acute ;  after  flowering  they  shrivel 
up,  leaving  the  cup  encircling  the  seed-vessels.  The  petals  are 
rounded,  usually  entire,  white,  rarely  rose-tinted.  The  stamens 
are  attached,  in  a  single  row,  to  the  outer,  swollen,  glandular 
edge  of  the  lining  of  the  cup.  This  edge  is  rose-colored,  and 
the  white  anthers  have  a  faint  tinge  of  the  same  color,  giving, 
together,  a  rosy  hue  to  the  flower.  The  seed-vessels  are  formed 
of  5  carpels,  united  at  base,  and  encircled  by  the  persistent 
calyx-cup.  They  open  from  the  top,  by  the  middle  suture. 
The  dry  heads  of  the  opened  seed-vessels  are  conspicuous,  rising 
up  among  the  flowers  of  the  succeeding  year.  The  perennial 
root  is  tough  and  strong,  running  for  several  feet,  just  below  the 
surface.     Flowering  from  July  to  September. 

Several  varieties  are  described  by  Pursh,  and  in  the  Flora  of 
North  America.  The  most  common  seems  to  be  that  called 
paniculdla  by  Pursh,  with  considerable  variations,  particularly 
in  the  color  of  the  stem  and  under  surface  of  the  leaf. 

Sp.  3.     The  Steeple  Bush.     Hardhack.    S.  tomcntbsa.     L. 

A  leafy  shrub,  from  two  to  five  feet  high,  growing  in  wet 
ground,  and  distinguished,  in  the  flowering  season,  for  its  long 


428  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tapering  spire  of  purple  flowers.  The  old  stems  are  smooth  and 
of  a  dark  bronze  color.  The  recent  stems  and  every  other  part 
of  the  plant  but  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves,  are  covered  with 
a  thick,  close  down,  of  a  light  rust  color,  varying,  on  the  lower 
surface  of  the  leaves,  to  white.  The  leaves  are  very  thick, 
crowded,  on  very  short,  rather  stout  petioles,  elliptic  or  oval, 
somewhat  obtuse,  coarsely  and  unequally  serrate.  The  lower 
part  of  the  compound  panicle  is  made  up  of  partial  ones  from 
the  axils  of  the  leaves.  Flowering  begins  at  the  top,  where  the 
flowers  are  faded  before  those  on  the  lower  branches  begin  to 
expand.  Notwithstanding  this  defect,  the  plant  possesses  con- 
siderable beauty.  The  roots  are  large  and  running.  Flower- 
ing from  July  to  September. 

This  plant  has  valuable  astringent  qualities,  and  is  employed 
as  a  tonic  in  dysentery  and  other  disorders  of  the  system,  par- 
ticularly in  those  incident  to  females. 

Both  of  these  species  are  deserving  of  cultivation  for  their 
beauty,  their  flowers  coming  on  as  the  spring  flowers  are  pass- 
ing, and  continuing  into  the  autumn.  Cultivation  improves 
them ;  the  dead  stems  of  the  previous  year  deforming,  and  the 
roots  impeding  the  growth  of  the  flourishing  stocks. 

2.  THE  BRAMBLE  TRIBE,  DRYA'DEJE,  in  which  the  fruits  are  seed- 
like little  nuts,  or  sometimes  little  drupes,  and,  when  numerous,  crowded  on 
a  conical  or  rounded  receptacle, — contains,  besides  the  Blackberry  and  Rasp- 
berry,— Cinquefoil,  Agrimony,  the  Strawberry  and  others. 

The  BRAMBLES.  RUB  US.  The  various  species  of  the 
bramble  and  of  the  rose  have  been  described  in  Prof.  Dewey's 
Report  on  the  Herbaceous  Plants,  and  I  should  not  mention  them, 
but  that  this  report  may  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  persons  who 
have  not  seen  the  other,  and,  as  these  plants  are  half  ligneous, 
it  might  seem  incomplete  without  some  notice  of  them. 

The  Flowering  Raspberry,  R.  odoraliis,  is  a  low  shrub,  orna- 
menting the  sides  of  roads  and  paths  among  mountains  and  in 
moist  glens,  in  most  parts  of  the  State,  and  giving  a  charm  to 
many  a  solitary  spot  by  its  large,  rose-like  flowers.  The  old 
stalk  is  dry  and  scaly ;  the  recent  shoots  and  flower  branches 
green  below,  reddish  above,  with  a  covering  of  purple,  gland- 


XXVI.  THE  ROSE  TRIBE.  429 

bearing  hairs,  which  continue  up  the  footstalk  and  along  the 
mid-rib  and  principal  nerves,  on  the  under  surface  of  the  leaf, 
ahd  thickly  invest  the  flower-stalk  and  calyx.  Five  principal 
nerves  give  the  soft  and  woolly  leaf  5  lobes,  which  have  large, 
unequal  teeth.  The  globular,  unopened  buds  are  crowned  with 
a  tassel  from  the  5  long  points  of  the  calyx.  The  flowering  is 
what  is  called  centrifugal,  the  bud  at  the  end  of  the  main  stem 
opening  first.  The  petals  are  5,  large,  purple,  crumpled,  soon 
fading  in  the  sunshine.  The  fruit  is  flattish,  red,  pleasant, 
though  less  agreeable  than  that  of  the  true  raspberry.  It  is 
much  cultivated  for  its  beauty.  Should  be  planted  in  a  shady 
place. 

The  wild  Red  Raspberry,  R.  slrigosus,  not  inferior  to  the 
cultivated,  and  very  nearly  like  it,  and  the  High  Blackberry, 
R.  villdsus,  and  R.  frondosus,  and  some  varieties  of  the  Low 
Blackberry,  R.  Canadensis,  of  Torrey  and  Gray,  are  delicious 
and  wholesome  fruits.  They  differ  much  in  different  localities. 
This  circumstance  is  worthy  of  consideration  with  those  who 
mean  to  attempt  to  improve  these  fruits  by  cultivation.  The 
variety  of  High  Blackberry  found  at  Fall  River  and  around 
Buzzard's  Bay,  is  superior  to  any  that  I  have  tasted,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Boston.  And  every  one  who  has  tasted,  remembers 
the  superior  flavor  of  the  wild  Raspberry  of  Maine.  The  Thim- 
bleberry,  R.  occidental  in,  is  an  inferior  fruit;  but  has  been,  in 
some  instances,  much  improved  by  cultivation.  The  Bristly 
Blackberry,  R.  setbsus  of  Bigelow,  R.  hispidus  of  T.  and  G., 
and  R.  sempervirens  of  Bigelow  is  of  little  interest. 

3.  THE  ROSE  TRIBE,  ROSEM,  in  which  numerous  nut-like  seeds 
cover  the  fleshy  lining  of  the  urn-shaped  calyx-tube, — contains  the  true  Roses, 
Rosa,  L.,  of  which  144  distinct  species  are  described  by  De  Candolle. 

Four  species  of  wild  rose  are  common  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Massachusetts : — the  Early  Wild  Rose,  R.  lucida,  Ehrenberg, 
with  very  numerous  varieties,  found  every  where,  mostly  in 
dry  places,  and  flowering  in  May  and  June  ;  the  Swamp  Rose, 
R.  Carolina,  L.,  coming  in  flower  as  the  last  goes  out,  and  con- 
tinuing into  August ;  found  rarely  except  in  wet  ground,  and 
distinguished  by  the  softness  and  paleness  of  its  foliage ;  the 


430        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Shining  Rose,  R.  nillda,  Willdenow,  distinguished  for  its  shining, 
dark  colored  leaves  and  the  extreme  prickliness  of  its  stem, 
found  in  a  few  places,  in  low  grounds, — and  the  Sweet  Briar, 
R.  mbigindsa,  with  many  varieties.  The  last  was  doubtless 
introduced,  but  has  spread  very  extensively. 


FAMILY  XXVII.     THE  APPLE  FAMILY.     POM  ACE  JE.     Lindley. 

To  this  family  belong  only  trees  and  shrubs  with  alternate, 
simple  or  compound  leaves,  stipules  commonly  deciduous, 
purplish,  white,  or  pink  flowers  in  terminal  bunches,  with  a 
calyx  of  5  divisions,  a  corolla  of  5  petals,  alternate  with  the 
divisions  of  the  calyx  ;  stamens  numerous,  some  multiple  of  the 
petals,  growing  on  and  within  the  calyx ;  from  1  to  5  styles, 
and  the  fruit  a  pome  or  apple  with  from  1  to  5  cells. 

The  Pear,  the  Apple,  the  Quince,  the  Hawthorn,  the  Rowan 
Tree  or  Mountain  Ash,  and  the  Wild  Sugar  Pear,  so  valuable 
for  their  fruit  and  for  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  their  flowers, 
give  an  interest  to  this  family  with  which  few  others  can  vie. 
The  wood  of  all  the  species  is  of  a  close  and  smooth  grain,  and 
valuable  to  the  turner.  The  fruit  contains  a  peculiar  vegetable 
acid  called  malic  acid. 

This  family  is  almost  confined  to  the  northern  temperate  zone 
of  both  continents;  few  species  are  found  in  the  southern  hem- 
isphere, and  within  the  tropics  they  are  found  only  on  moun- 
tains or  elevated  plains. 

XXVII.    1.     THE  THORN.     CRATAEGUS.     L. 

Thorny  shrubs  or  low  trees,  natives  of  Europe,  India,  and 
North  America,  with  entire  or  variously  lobed  and  cut  leaves, 
deciduous.  Stipules  and  flowers  in  terminal  corymbs.  The 
calyx-tube  is  pitcher-shaped;  the  petals  spreading  and  round- 
ish; the  stamens  many;  the  ovary  with  2  to  5  cells,  and  sur- 
mounted by  as  many  glabrous  styles;  the  fruit  a  fleshy  pome, 


XXVII.     1.  THE  THORN.  431 

closed  by  the  teeth  of  the  calyx,  and  containing  from  2  to  5 
bony  nuts,  each  with  one  seed. 

Many  of  the  most  beautiful  and  highly  valued  thorns  are 
natives  of  North  America,  and  four,  and  probably  others,  of 
New  England.  Hence  they  have  been  carried  to  Europe,  and 
have  there,  especially  within  a  few  years  past,  received  great 
attention.  It  is  found  that  a  greater  variety  of  beautiful  small 
trees  and  ornamental  shrubs  can  be  formed  of  the  several  species 
of  thorn  than  of  any  other  kind  of  tree  whatever.  They  thus 
give  persons,  whose  grounds  are  not  extensive,  the  means  of 
ornamenting  them  with  great  facility.  If  trained  as  trees,  they 
have  an  appearance  of  singular  neatness  united  with  a  good 
degree  of  vigor.  And  the  readiness  with  which  they  are  pruned 
and  grafted,  renders  them  susceptible  of  almost  any  shape  which 
the  fancy  of  the  owner  would  have  them  assume. 

In  his  Forest  Scenery,  I,  94,  Gilpin,  speaking  of  the  English 
hawthorn,  after  some  depreciating  remarks,  adds,  "In  autumn, 
the  hawthorn  makes  its  best  appearance.  Its  glowing  berries  pro- 
duce a  rich  tint,  which  often  adds  great  beauty  to  the  corner  of 
a  wood,  or  the  side  of  some  crowded  clump."  In  a  more  favor- 
able tone  his  editor  subjoins, — "  We  have  seen  it  hanging  over 
rocks,  with  deep  shadows  under  its  foliage,  or  shooting  from 
their  sides,  in  the  most  fantastic  forms,  as  if  to  gaze  at  its  image 
in  the  deep  pool  below.  We  have  seen  it  growing  under  the 
shelter,  though  not  under  the  shade,  of  some  stately  oak,  embod- 
ying the  idea  of  beauty  protected  by  strength.  We  have  seen 
it  growing  grandly  on  the  green  of  the  village  school,  the  great 
object  of  general  attraction  to  the  young  urchins,  who  played 
in  idle  groups  about  its  roots,  and  perhaps  the  only  thing  re- 
maining to  be  recognized,  when  the  schoolboy  returns  as  the 
man.  We  have  seen  its  aged  boughs  overshadowing  one  half 
of  some  peaceful  woodland  cottage,  its  foliage  half  concealing 
the  window,  whence  the  sounds  of  happy  content  and  cheerful 
mirth  came  forth.     We  know  that  lively  season, 

When  the  milkmaid  singeth  blythe, 
And  the  mower  whets  his  scythe, 
And  every  shepherd  tells  his  tale 
Under  the  hawthorn  in  the  dale." 


432        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Some  of  the  species  native  to  Massachusetts  often  take,  even 
in  a  state  of  nature,  the  shape  of  handsome  low  trees.  Of  these, 
the  flowers  and  foliage  have  great  beauty,  and  the  scarlet  haws, 
which  remain  on  into  the  winter,  till,  ripened  by  the  frosts,  they 
are  gathered  by  the  birds,  give  them  an  additional  charm.  Into 
these  tall  species  all  the  others,  very  various  and  many  of  them 
very  beautiful,  may  be  grafted.  And  not  only  thorns,  but  pears 
and  other  fruits,  may  be  readily  made  to  grow  upon  the  thorn. 

The  wood  of  the  thorn  is  of  a  yellowish  white,  heavy,  close- 
grained,  hard,  and  difficult  to  work.  It  is  not  of  sufficient  size 
for  many  useful  purposes,  and  it  is  somewhat  liable  to  warp. 
But  its  hardness  and  the  beautiful  polish  it  takes,  make  it  par- 
ticularly fit  for  the  handles  of  hammers  and  other  small  tools, 
and  for  walking-sticks  ;  and  it  is  often  used  for  wedges. 

But  by  far  the  most  important  use  of  the  thorn  is  for  the  for- 
mation of  hedges.  The  fact  that  so  large  a  number  of  thorn 
trees  are  natives  of  this  State,  and  found  flourishing  in  every 
dry  situation,  in  almost  all  kinds  of  soil,  shows  that  they  may 
be  used  for  this  purpose,  with  as  much  certainty  as  in  England 
or  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  The  time  has  not  yet  come, 
and,  in  those  parts  which  are  full  of  stones,  it  may  never  come, 
when  hedges  will  take  the  place  of  wood  and  of  stone  for  enclo- 
sures, as  entirely  as  they  have  in  England.  But  in  many  situ- 
ations, in  every  part  of  the  State,  they  might,  even  now,  be 
introduced  with  great  advantage  and  great  beauty.  About 
country  houses  and  gardens,  where  it  is  desirable  to  avoid  the 
stiff  appearance  of  close  wooden  enclosures,  the  roughness  of 
stone,  and  the  slovenliness  of  the  straggling  fence,  a  hedge 
of  thorn  is  a  most  desirable  substitute.  The  experiment  has 
been  successfully  tried,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  often  enough 
to  show  its  practicability  and  its  advantages.  And  in  such 
situations  the  hedge  would  answer  the  double  purpose  of  a 
fence  and  a  row  of  fruit  and  ornamental  trees.  Pears,  apples 
and  quinces  might  be  grafted  into  the  largest  stocks,  and  the 
mountain  ash,  and  the  wild  sugar  pear,  add  their  rich  bunches 
of  fruit  in  winter,  and  their  graceful  and  rich  flowers  in  early 
spring. 

"  When  the  hawthorn  is  to  be  raised  from  seed,  the  haws 


XXVII.     1.         THE  COCKSPUR  THORN.  433 

should  not  be  gathered  till  they  are  dead  ripe.  As  many  haws 
contain  more  than  one  seed,  they  ought  not  to  be  put  in  the 
ground  entire,  but,  if  they  are  to  be  sown  immediately,  they 
must  be  macerated  in  water  till  the  pulp  is  separated  from  the 
nuts ;  and  the  latter  should  then  be  mixed  with  dry  sand,  to 
keep  them  separate,  and  to  enable  the  sower  to  scatter  them 
equally  over  the  surface ;  they  should  be  sown  in  November  or 
December,  as  soon  as  separated  from  the  pulp.  They  may  be 
sown  thinly  in  beds,  the  seeds  being  scattered  so  as  to  lie  about 
one  inch  apart  every  way,  and  covered  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year's  growth,  the  strongest  of  the 
plants  may  be  thinned  out  from  the  beds,  and  planted  in  nursery 
lines;  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  second  year,  the  remaining 
plants  may  be  taken  up  for  the  same  purpose.  Hawthorns 
ought  always  to  be  two  years  transplanted  before  they  are  em- 
ployed for  hedges  ;  younger  and  untransplanted  plants,  though 
cheaper  to  purchase,  are  always  the  most  expensive  to  the 
planter,  as  they  require  temporary  protection  for  a  longer  pe- 
riod."— London,  II,  840. 

When  the  pear  is  grafted  into  the  thorn,  it  should  be  done 
close  to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  or  even  beneath  it,  as  other- 
wise there  is  danger  of  the  trunk  out-growing  the  root,  and 
being  blown  over  by  the  wind. 

Sixteen  species,  according  to  Torrey  and  Gray,  are  found  in 
North  America.     The  following  are  found  in  Massachusetts : — 

Sp.  1.     The  Cockspur  Thorn.     C.  crusgalU.     L. 

This  is  a  singularly  neat  shrub,  often  forming  a  beautiful, 
round-headed,  small  tree,  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  height.  The  trunk 
is  erect,  with  a  rough,  scaly  bark,  and  set  with  sharp  thorns. 
The  branches  are  gray,  numerous,  large,  nearly  horizontal,  and 
very  thorny.  Recent  shoots  of  a  reddish  gray.  The  leaves  are 
entire,  inversely  egg-shaped,  tapering  regularly  from  near  the 
end  to  the  base  of  the  footstalk.  They  are  rounded  or  pointed 
at  the  extremity,  serrate,  except  towards  the  base,  dark  green, 
smooth  and  very  shining  above,  paler,  but  smooth  and  conspic- 
uously reticulated  beneath. 

The  flowers  are  in  irregular  corymbs,  with  a  leafy  footstalk, 
56 


434       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

a  leaf  being  below  each  of  one  or  two  of  the  lower  partial  foot- 
stalks. The  calyx-segments  are  long  and  acute.  Stamens 
usually  10,  and  styles  1  or  2.  The  fruit  is  on  slender,  some- 
what branched  stalks,  dependent  from  the  end  of  spurs  which 
are  shorter  than  the  thorns,  oblong-globose,  dotted  with  brown, 
crowned  with  the  5  very  acute  segments  of  the  calyx. 

The  thorns  are  two  or  three  inches  long,  or  more,  very  sharp 
and  slender,  and,  when  young,  set  with  a  few  minute  leaves. 
Several  varieties  of  this  thorn  are  found  or  produced  by  culti- 
vation. 

Found  from  Canada  to  Florida,  and  westward  to  Missouri. 

Sp.  2.     The  White  Thorn.     Scarlet-Fruited  Thorn. 

C.  coccinea.     L. 

A  low,  round-headed,  much  branched  tree,  growing  naturally 
on  rather  dry,  rocky  hills,  but  found  by  the  banks  of  streams, 
and  in  all  kinds  of  soil.  When  surrounded  by  other  trees,  it 
sometimes  attains  the  height  of  twenty -five  feet. 

The  trunk  on  old  trees  has  a  light  gray,  scaly  bark,  often 
rugged  and  knurly,  and  not  unfrequently  armed  with  stout 
thorns,  especially  between  the  lower  branches.  The  recent 
branchlets  are  of  a  dark  olive  green,  which  gradually  turns  to 
a  light  gray.  The  thorns  are  long,  pointed,  and  somewhat  fal- 
cate, or  short  and  stout,  sometimes  solitary,  more  frequently  by 
the  side  of  a  short  branch. 

The  leaves  are  of  a  soft,  leathery  texture,  round-ovate,  or 
rhomboid,  or  broad-elliptical,  in  their  outline,  often  entire  and 
usually  wedge-shaped  at  base,  or  slightly  decurrent  into  a  slen- 
der footstalk;  on  the  sterile  branches  often  heart-shaped  at  base; 
serrate  towards  the  end,  and  nearly  entire  or  more  or  less  deeply 
divided,  on  each  side,  into  2  to  4  acuminate  lobes ;  smooth  on 
both  surfaces,  dark  green  above,  lighter  beneath.  Flowers  in 
May  or  June.  The  segments  of  the  calyx  are  glandular-den- 
tate ;  the  stamens  often  only  10;  styles  3  to  5.  The  fruit  is 
globose,  or  pear-shaped,  half  an  inch  long,  one  third  of  an  inch 
broad,  of  a  bright  scarlet. 

Found  from  Canada  to  Texas,  and  westward  to  Kentucky. 


XXYII.     1.     THE  DOTTED-FRUITED  THORN.  435 

Sp.  3.     The  Pear-leaved  Thorn.     C.  tomenibsa.     L. 

A  much  branched  shrub  usually  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  but, 
when  surrounded  by  other  plants,  eighteen  or  twenty,  with 
bark,  on  the  branches  and  small  trunks,  of  a  bright  reddish,  pol- 
ished green,  or  a  shining  brown,  on  the  recent  shoots  dotted 
with  elliptic,  raised,  brown  dots.  The  thorns  are  axillary,  from 
one  to  three  inches  long,  and  pointed.  The  flowers  are  large 
and  fragrant,  on  broad,  leafy  corymbs.  The  segments  of  the 
calyx  are  long  and  slender  and  glandular-serrate,  and,  with 
the  flower-stem,  downy.  The  styles  are  usually  3.  The  fruit 
is  large,  orange  red,  pear-shaped. 

The  leaves  are  of  a  firm,  leathery  texture,  rather  deeply  fur- 
rowed on  the  upper  surface,  large,  sometimes  five  inches  in 
length  and  three  in  breadth  ;  ovoid,  tapering  rapidly  at  base 
into  a  footstalk  which  is  margined  to  the  bottom ;  doubly  ser- 
rate, sharply  cut  towards  the  extremity,  which  commonly  ends 
in  an  acute  point ;  downy  on  both  surfaces  when  young,  smooth 
finally  on  the  upper  surface,  but  with  the  veins  beneath  perma- 
nently covered  with  a  short  down. 

This  is  one  of  our  most  common  and  hardy  thorns.  It  is 
well  fitted  to  form  a  part  of  a  hedge,  but  is  objectionable  on  ac- 
count of  the  early  fall  of  the  leaf.  It  should,  therefore,  be  min- 
gled with  sweet-briar  and  the  buck-thorn. 

It  flowers  in  May  and  June,  and  ripens  its  large  fruit  in  Oc- 
tober.    Found  from  Canada  to  Kentucky. 

Sp.  4.     The  Dotted-fruited  Thorn.     C.  punctata.     Jacquin. 

A  handsome  shrub,  eight  to  twelve  feet  high,  rarely  more,  but 
sometimes  twenty  or  even  twenty-five.  The  trunk,  sometimes 
straight,  is  usually  contorted  and  zig-zag,  covered  with  a  rough, 
much  fissured  bark. 

The  recent  shoots  have  the  dark  brown,  polished  bark,  cha- 
racteristic of  the  thorn ;  the  older  branches  are  of  a  greenish 
gray,  smooth  or  channelled  with  many  small  grooves.  Thorns 
commonly  long  and  stout,  scythe-shaped.  Leaves  inversely 
egg-shaped,  rounded  towards  the  extremity,  and  wedge-shaped 
at  base,  tapering  downwards  and  running  along  in  a  wing  upon 


436        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  footstalk,  almost  to  its  very  base.  They  are  doubly  serrate 
above,  sometimes  deeply  cut  towards  the  end,  of  a  rather  firm 
and  tough  texture,  with  furrows  above  the  nerves  on  the  upper 
surface,  lighter  colored  and  sometimes  hairy  beneath,  especially 
on  the  veins.  The  fruit  dark  scarlet,  rounded  or  egg-shaped, 
dotted  with  grayish  dots,  on  footstalks  which  are  dotted  and 
hairy,  branching,  forming  corymbs  or  heads  with  leaves  be- 
neath several  of  the  lowermost  footstalks.  The  fruit  is  some- 
what hard  and  tough,  but  eatable  and  rather  agreeable  to  the 
taste. 

.  This,  like  several  other  thorns,  produces  a  great  abundance 
of  fruit.  It  is  ripe  in  September,  and  a  small  tree  loaded  with 
it  continues  a  very  beautiful  object,  conspicuous  at  some  dis- 
tance, for  several  weeks.  Each  haw  usually  contains  two  pretty 
large  hemispherical  stones  or  nuts,  so  that  a  single  tree  often 
yields  seed  enough  to  produce  plants  sufficient  for  fifteen  or 
twenty  rods  of  hedge. 

It  is  found,  though  less  frequently  than  the  white  thorn,  in 
most  parts  of  the  State,  and  in  all  situations,  except,  I  think, 
very  wet  ground. 

These  four  species,  with  many  varieties,  especially  on  the 
White  and  the  Dotted-fruited,  are  all  I  have  found  in  the  State, 
though  probably  others  are  to  be  found.  They  would  seem  to 
promise  better  than  any  foreign  species,  for  all  the  purposes  to 
which  the  thorn  may  be  applied. 

One  of  the  foreign  species,  the  English  Hawthorn,  C.  oxya- 
c&ntha,  distinguished  for  its  deeply  3-  or  5-lobed  leaves  and  often 
purplish  blossoms,  has  been  somewhat  extensively  introduced, 
and  flourishes  perfectly  well. 

XXVII.     2.     THE  PEAR.     PYRUS.     Lindley. 

A  genus  containing  trees  or  shrubs  with  simple  or  compound, 
serrate  leaves  ;  spreading,  terminal,  simple  or  compound  cymes 
of  white  or  rose-colored  flowers,  with  awl-shaped,  deciduous 
bracts  ;  and  fruit  for  the  most  part  eatable.  The  calyx-tube  is 
pitcher-shaped ;  the  petals  are  roundish ;  styles  5,  rarely  2  or  3, 
distinct  or  somewhat  united  at  base  ;  pome  fleshy  or  berry-like, 
5-  (rarely  2-  or  3-)  celled,  with  2  seeds  in  each  cell. 


XXVII.     2.  THE  PEAR.  437 

The  Apple,  the  Pear,  the  Service,  the  Beam- tree  and  the 
Mountain  Ash,  besides  several  less  important  plants,  belong  to 
this  genus. 

The  Pear  Tree,  P.  communis,  is  too  well  known  to  need  a 
description,  and  several  writers  have  given  directions  for  its 
cultivation  in  this  climate.  It  grows  rapidly  and  forms  a  tall 
and  finely  shaped  head;  the  fruit  is  agreeable  and  wholesome 
as  food,  and  the  juice  forms  a  pleasant  liquor;  and  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  this  tree  is  not  more  frequently  planted.  Rows 
of  the  pear  tree  might  often  border  road-sides  and  divisions  of 
lands,  with  little  injury  to  the  grass  or  other  vegetation,  and 
to  the  great  relief  of  travellers,  and  the  protection  of  orchards 
and  gardens. 

There  are  few  in  any  community,  certainly  in  ours,  so  lost  to 
a  sense  of  right,  and  so  insensible  of  gratitude,  as  to  desire  to 
make  depredations  on  the  property  of  their  neighbors,  when 
their  hunger  may  be  appeased,  and  their  taste  gratified,  by  the 
fruit  of  trees  standing  by  the  road-side.  And  how  much  enjoy- 
ment would  be  given  to  that  class,  always  to  be  found,  in  every 
country,  who  have  no  fruit  trees  of  their  own,  by  planting  a 
number  of  such  trees,  in  every  village,  and  along  every  public 
road,  for  the  very  purpose  of  being,  and  being  considered,  public 
property  !  A  more  effectual  and  benevolent  way  of  protecting 
valuable  fruit  trees,  and  preventing  depredations,  cannot  easily 
be  devised.  On  this  point,  Gerard,  a  quaint  but  earnest  old 
writer  upon  plants,  uses  an  exhortation,  the  spirit  of  which  we. 
hope  many  may  be  ready  to  adopt.  "  Forward/'  says  he,  "  in 
the  name  of  God,  grafte,  set,  plant  and  nourish  up  trees  in  every 
corner  of  your  ground  ;  the  labor  is  small,  the  cost  is  nothing; 
the  commodity  is  great ;  yourselves  shall  have  plenty ;  the  poor 
shall  have  somewhat  in  time  of  want,  to  relieve  their  necessity ; 
and  God  shall  reward  your  goode  mindes  and  diligence. — {Her- 
bal, p.  1459.)  Loudon  says  he  was  much  struck  with  the  lines 
of  fruit  trees  which  bordered  all  the  public  roads  in  the  south  of 
Germany,  the  apples  and  pears  being  bent  almost  to  the  ground 
with  their  loads  of  fruit. 

The  wood  of  the  pear  is  of  a  reddish  white  color,  heavy,  firm, 


438        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

of  a  very  fine  and  close  grain,  and  next  to  box  for  the  use  of  the 
engraver  on  wood.  It  takes  a  fine  and  permanent  black  stain, 
and  can  then  with  difficulty  be  distinguished  from  ebony,  so 
that  it  is  sometimes  substituted  for  it.  It  is  tough,  not  liable  to 
warp,  and  fitted  for  the  use  of  the  turner  and  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  tools.  As  fuel,  it  burns  readily  and  vividly,  and  yields  a 
great  heat.     The  leaves  and  the  bark  afford  a  yellow  dye. 

The  number  of  names  of  pears  contained  in  the  London  Hor- 
ticultural Society's  Catalogue  for  1831,  was  677. — (London,  p. 
883).  All  these,  it  must  be  remarked,  are  varieties  of  a  single 
species,  the  common  pear,  and  yet  all  are  distinguishable  by  the 
qualities  of  the  fruit,  and  oftentimes  by  peculiarities  in  their 
leaves,  modes  of  growth,  color  and  appearance. 

The  Apple,  P.  mahis,  is  still  more  valuable,  in  every  respect, 
than  the  pear,  but  does  not  form  so  handsome  a  tree.  It  has 
been  longer  and  more  carefully  cultivated  than  any  other  tree, 
and  the  effects  of  cultivation  are  visible  in  the  immense  number 
of  varieties,  and  in  the  prodigious  difference  between  the  deli- 
cious qualities  of  some  of  the  choicer  sorts,  and  the  harsh,  sour, 
and  austere  crab- apple,  produced  by  the  same  tree  growing 
wild.  It  is  native  to  all  the  temperate  parts  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  is  every  where  cultivated  for  its  fruit. 

The  apple  flourishes  in  every  part  of  New  England,  though, 
like  the  pear  and  the  peach,  it  is  liable  to  great  fluctuations  from 
year  to  year.  Many  people  think  that  all  these  species,  esper 
cially  in  their  tender  varieties,  are  less  successfully  cultivated 
than  formerly.  The  change  is  probably  not  greater  than  is  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  loss  or  diminution  of  the  forests.  The  last 
two  or  three  years  seem  to  be  bringing  back  the  olden  time,  and 
make  it  probable  that  the  apparent  decline  of  some  previous 
years  is  only  part  of  a  cycle,  which,  when  completed,  will  bring 
round  again  the  seasons  most  favorable  to  these  valuable  fruits. 
The  climate  seems  to  be  subject  to  some  such  periodical  change. 
Old  and  valuable  varieties  of  this  fruit  and  of  the  pear  are  con- 
tinually dying  out,  and  alarm  is  sometimes  felt  lest  none  so 
good  shall  be  found  to  take  their  place.  But  the  arts  of  the 
fruit-cultivator  were  never  in  so  high  a  state  as  at  this  moment ; 


XXVII.    2.    THE  AMERICAN  MOUNTAIN  ASH.        439 

in  1836,  the  catalogue  and  the  gardens  of  the  London  Horticul- 
tural Society,  contained  upwards  of  1400  distinct  sorts,  (Lou- 
do?i,  p.  895,)  and  new  ones  are  every  year  added. 

The  fruit  is  not  only  delicious  and  wholesome  to  man,  either 
unprepared,  or  in  the  numerous  forms  into  which  it  is  reduced 
by  the  culinary  art,  hut  it  forms  a  very  valuable  and  nutritious 
article  of  food  to  almost  all  quadrupeds. 

The  wood  of  the  apple  tree  is  of  a  reddish  or  brownish  color, 
smooth,  fine-grained,  and  hard,  but  rather  light.  It  is  much 
used  by  the  turner,  and  often  made  into  walking-sticks.  It  has 
been  found  very  durable  when  used  as  cogs  of  wheels.  On  ac- 
count of  its  smoothness  and  hardness,  it  is  used  to  make  shuttles 
and  reeds  for  weaving. 

The  apple  tree  is  often  found  growing  in  the  forest,  rising  to 
a  far  greater  height  than  when  in  the  orchard.  Stocks  have 
been  pointed  out  to  me  more  than  seventy  feet  high. 

In  the  southern  country,  a  small  native  apple  tree  is  found, 
the  Pyrns  corondria,  growing  rarely  to  the  height  of  twenty 
feet,  bearing  large,  fragrant,  rose-colored  flowers,  succeeded  by 
small  fruit.  In  the  Middle  States  occurs  another,  P.  angusti- 
fblia,  with  leaves  and  fruit  smaller. 

The  American  Mountain  Ash.     P.  Americana.     De  Candolle. 

The  mountain  ash  is  found  growing  abundantly  about  Wa- 
chusett,  and  in  several  other  mountainous  situations  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  also  in  low,  cold,  moist  plains  in  Maine.  It  often 
grows  in  bunches.  The  trunk  rarely  erect,  but  ascending,  and 
from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet  high.  Its  branches  are  few,  sol- 
itary, and  making  a  sharp  angle  with  the  stem.  The  bark  is 
of  a  bright  bottle  green  on  the  new  shoots,  growing  darker  on 
the  older.  The  leaves  are  in  tufts  on  the  ends  of  the  branches, 
pinnate,  usually  of  seven  pairs  of  leaflets  and  an  odd  one.  The 
petiole  is  dark  red.  The  leaflets  are  oblong-lanceolate,  unequal 
at  base,  rounded  or  cordate  on  the  lower,  acute  on  the  upper 
side,  equally  and  deeply  serrated,  with  numerous  parallel  nerves. 
The  color  is  a  soft  green,  paler  beneath.  The  flowers,  which 
expand  early  in  June,  are  white ;  the  fruit,  which,  like  that  of 


440        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  cultivated  Mountain  Ash  of  Europe,  P.  aucuparia,  when 
planted  about  houses,  remains  on  during  the  winter,  is  of  a  dark 
reddish  or  scarlet  color. 

It  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  imported  mountain  ash, 
but  may  be  distinguished  by  its  leaves  and  their  petiole  being 
more  smooth,  the  bark  darker,  and  its  habit  more  slender.  Its 
fruit,  also,  is  of  a  darker  color.  When  cultivated  in  England,  it 
assumes  a  more  robust  appearance  than  the  European  moun- 
tain ash,  so  that  its  slender  form,  when  growing  wild,  might  be 
thought  to  be  owing  to  its  being  drawn  up  by  being  surrounded 
by  other  trees.  It  has,  however,  the  same  delicate  shape  when 
exposed  to  the  winds  on  the  north  side  of  the  Wachusett. 

From  the  resemblance  to  the  European  tree,  so  great  that 
Michaux  supposed  it  might  be  a  variety,  it  is  probable  that  its 
cultivation  should  be  the  same. 

That  tree  is  commonly  raised,  in  England,  where  it  is  much 
cultivated  as  an  ornamental  tree,  from  the  seed,  which  is  gath- 
ered as  soon  as  ripe,  macerated  in  water  till  the  seeds  are  sepa- 
rated from  the  pulp,  and  then  may  be  immediately  sown.  They 
will,  in  that  case,  remain  eighteen  months  in  the  ground  before 
coming  up.  It  is  common,  therefore,  to  mix  the  berries  with 
light,  sandy  soil,  and  spread  them  in  a  layer,  of  ten  or  twelve 
inches  in  thickness,  in  the  rotting  ground,  covering  the  layer 
with  two  or  three  inches  of  sand  or  ashes,  and  allowing  them  to 
remain  in  that  state  a  year.  They  are  then  separated  from  the 
soil  by  sifting,  and  sown  in  beds  of  light,  rich  soil,  being  cov- 
ered a  quarter  of  an  inch.  This  should  be  done  as  late  as  pos- 
sible in  the  fall.  They  will  come  up  in  June,  and  by  the  end 
of  the  season  some  of  the  plants  will  be  eighteen  inches  high, 
and  ready  to  transplant  to  the  nursery.  The  seeds  should  be 
not  less  than  two  inches  apart. — Loudon,  Arb.,  920. 

The  European  Mountain  Ash  is  commonly  known  in  Eng- 
land by  the  name  of  Rowan  or  Roan  Tree,  and,  in  some  dis- 
tricts, Witchen ;  and  has  long  been  considered  of  sovereign 
power  against  witches  and  evil  spirits,  and  all  their  fascinations 
and  spells.  For  this  purpose,  it  was  made  into  walking-sticks, 
or  branches  of  it  were  hung  about  the  house  or  about  stables 


XXVII.     2.  THE  CHOKE-BERRY.  441 

and  cow-houses.  In  a  stanza  of  an  ancient  song,  quoted  by 
the  author  of  "  Sylvan  Sketches,"  we  have 

"  Their  spells  were  vain  ;  the  hags  returned 
To  the  queen  in  sorrowful  mood, 
Crying  that  witches  have  no  power 
Where  there  is  roan-tree  wood." 

She  adds, — "  This  last  line  leads  to  the  true  reading  of  aline  in 
Shakespeare's  tragedy  of  Macbeth.  The  sailor's  wife,  on  the 
witches  requesting  some  chestnuts,  hastily  answers,  '  A  rown- 
tree,  witch!'  but  all  the  editions  have  'Aroint  thee,  witch!' 
which  is  nonsense  and  evidently  a  corruption." 

As  the  rowan-tree  grows  freely  in  the  most  exposed  situa- 
tions, it  is  often  planted,  as  a  nurse  to  young  trees  of  slow  growth 
exposed  to  the  sea-breeze,  and  it  has  the  great  advantage  of 
not  growing  above  a  certain  height,  so  that  when  it  has  per- 
formed its  office,  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  growth  of  the 
oaks  and  other  trees  for  whose  benefit  it  has  been  planted.  It 
flourishes  best  in  a  good  moist  soil  in  an  airy  exposure. 

Another  tree,  nearly  resembling  our  Mountain  Ash,  and  per- 
haps a  variety,  is  found  in  the  Middle  States,  and  called  the 
Small-fruited  Mountain  Ash. 

Several  trees  of  this  kind  belong  to  Europe,  some  of  which 
might  be  a  valuable  acquisition,  for  ornament,  at  least,  to  our 
gardens,  particularly  the  True  Service  Tree,  P.  sorbus,  which 
is  remarkable  for  its  wood  being  the  hardest  and  heaviest  of 
the  indigenous  woods  of  Europe. 

The  fruit  of  the  Mountain  Ash  is  rather  sour  to  the  taste.  It 
abounds  in  malic  acid,  and  the  juice  has  been  used  for  the  pur- 
pose of  turning  cider  to  vinegar. 

Sp.  2.     The  Choke-berry.     P.  arbutifblia.     Willdenow. 

This  is  a  slender,  branching  shrub,  two  to  five  feet  high,  with 
a  grayish  brown  stem  and  whitish  or  reddish  green,  downy 
shoots.  The  leaves  are  one  or  two  inches  long,  and  half  as 
wide  as  long,  lance-oblong,  or  elliptic,  oval,  or  obovate,  taper- 
ing at  base,  finely  and  sharply  serrate,  with  the  serratures  end- 
ing in  a  callous  point,  often  tapering  to  a  short  point,  pale  and 
usually  downy  beneath  when  young,  but  becoming  afterwards 
57 


442        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

smooth,  and  of  a  rich,  glossy,  deep  green  above,  with  small, 
dark,  purple  glands  on  the  mid-rib.  Flowers  white  with  some- 
times a  slight  rosy  or  purplish  tinge,  in  terminal,  compound, 
downy  corymbs.  Partial  flower-stalks  hairy,  with  slender,  de- 
ciduous bracts  at  base.  Calyx  downy,  segments  acute,  with 
minute  glands  on  the  edge.  Petals  roundish,  often  emarginate, 
concave.  Filaments  white,  anthers  purple.  Ovaries  5,  woolly, 
united  at  base;  styles  smooth,  straight.  Stigmas  capitate. 
Fruit  a  pome  with  5  cells  and  10  seeds,  of  the  size  of  a  whor- 
tleberry, often  downy,  sometimes  shining,  dark  red  or  reddish 
purple,  rather  dry,  astringent,  and  sweetish  to  the  taste. 

This  is  abundantly  found  in  moist,  open  woods,  or  in  dry, 
shady  woods,  or  along  their  border,  and  makes  a  handsome  ap- 
pearance, in  little  clumps,  with  its  bunches  of  flowers,  in  May 
and  June,  and  its  erect,  purple  fruit,  in  autumn.  If  cultivated, 
it  would  probably  increase  in  all  its  proportions,  and  would  cer- 
tainly form  a  very  ornamental  little  shrub. 

A  finer  and  larger  variety  of  this  plant  sometimes  occurs,  and, 
in  certain  places  along  the  sides  of  wet  woods,  is  more  common 
than  the  one  just  described.  This  has  been  considered  by  Will- 
denow,  and,  after  him,  by  Pursh,  as  a  separate  species,  under 
the  name  of  P.  melanocarpa.  There  is  little  difference  in  the 
flowers  or  foliage,  the  latter  being,  however,  in  every  part,  a 
smoother  plant.  The  fruit  is  larger,  in  a  closer  corymb,  much 
more  juicy  and  agreeable  to  the  taste,  and  of  a  shining  black 
color.  It  is,  probably,  only  a  variety,  as  individual  plants  oc- 
cur more  or  less  distantly  removed  from  these  two  extremes, 
and  of  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  to  which  they  should 
be  considered  as  belonging. 

XXVII.     3.     THE  WILD  SUGAR  PEAR.     AMELA'N- 

CHIER.     Medic. 

Small  trees,  with  simple,  serrate,  deciduous  leaves,  white, 
racemed  flowers,  and  linear-lanceolate,  deciduous  bracts,  dis- 
tinguished by  obovate-oblong  or  lanceolate  petals ;  stamens 
rather  shorter  than  the  calyx ;  ovary  with  10  (or  5  bipartite) 
cells,  each  containing  a  solitary  ovule  ;  5  styles  partially  united 
at  base ;  pome,  when  matured,  with  3 — 5  cells,  and  3 — 5  seeds. 


XXVII.    3.  THE  JUNE  BERRY.  443 

A  genus  of  three  or  four  species,  two  of  them  European,  and 
one,  with  very  numerous  and  marked  varieties,  American. 

The  Shad  Bush.    Swamp  Pyrus.    A.  Canadensis.    Torrey 

and  Gray. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  I,  Plate  60. 

There  are  two  remarkably  distinct  varieties  of  this  species 
found  in  Massachusetts.  Both  are  called  the  Shad  Bush,  from 
flowering  when  the  shad  begin  to  ascend  the  streams.  The 
first  is  also  called 

The  June  Berry.     A.  botryapium.     This  is  a  small,  graceful 
tree,  from  fifteen  to  twenty -five,  sometimes  thirty  feet  high,  with 
a  few,  slender,  distant  branches,  usually  growing  in  upland 
woods.     The  bark  is  of  a  reddish  green ;  that  of  the  branches 
and  stems,  of  a  rich  purplish  brown,  and  very  smooth.     The 
leaves  are  two  or  three  inches  long  and  rather  more  than  half 
that  breadth,  oval,  varying  from  ovate  to  elliptic  and  obovate, 
sharply  and  finely  serrate,  usually  somewhat  cordate  at  base, 
and  abruptly  acuminate,  smooth  on  both  surfaces  or  scattered 
with  a  few  silken  hairs,  when  just  expanded,  afterwards  smooth, 
purple  when  young,  paler  beneath.     Petioles  one  fourth  or  one 
fifth  the  length  of  the  leaves.     Stipules  very  slender,  lanceolate, 
invested  with  silky  hairs,  purple  or  faint  crimson,  falling  off 
with  the  investing  scales  of  the  buds.    Outer  scales  roundish, 
concave ;  inner,  lanceolate,  silky ;  all,  crimson  or  purple,  smooth 
without,  silky-villose  within.    Flowers  large,  in  spreading,  often 
somewhat  pendulous  racemes,  of  from  4  to  8,  on  the  ends  of 
the  branches,  expanding  in  April  or  May,  just  as  the  leaves  are 
beginning  to  open,  with  small,  purple  or  faint  crimson  bracts  at 
the  base  of  the  partial  flower-stalks  and  often  near  the  flowers. 
Segments  of  the  calyx  acuminate,  edged  and  lined  with  silky 
down.     Petals  white,  linear-lanceolate,  narrowed  at  base,  three 
times  as  long  as  the  calyx.     Fruit  pear-shaped,  purplish,  very 
sweet  and  pleasant,  ripening  in  June,  earlier  than  any  other 
fruit,  and  much  sought  for  by  birds. 

The  union  of  the  crimson  or  purple  of  the  scales  and  stipules, 
with  the  pure  white  of  the  flowers,  and  the  glossy,  silken,  scat- 


444       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tered  hairs  of  the  opening  leaves,  gives  a  delicate  beauty  to  this 
early  welcome  promise  of  the  woods. 

Dr.  Darlington  says  that  the  fruit  is  considerably  improved 
in  size  and  quality  by  long  culture. 

A  tree  of  this  species  standing  near  the  comb  manufactory  in 
Chester,  measured  five  feet  seven  inches  in  circumference,  at 
five  feet  from  the  ground. 

The  second  variety  has  been  called  the  Swamp  Pyrus  ;  Swamp 
Sugar  Pear  ;  A.  ovdlis.  The  leaves  are  oval  oblong,  finely  and 
sharply  serrate,  and  finely  acuminate,  downy  on  both  surfaces 
when  young,  very  downy  and  white  beneath ;  petioles,  pedun- 
cles and  calyx  covered  with  a  silken  down;  stipules  slender, 
linear ;  segments  of  the  calyx  acute,  ciliate ;  petals  obovate, 
twice  as  long  as  the  calyx,  more  persistent  than  in  the  last 
variety. 

This  is  a  smaller  tree  than  the  preceding,  but  sometimes  rises 
to  twelve  or  fifteen  feet.  It  is  usually,  however,  a  shrub  It  has 
a  great  resemblance  to  it,  so  that  many  botanists,  and,  among 
them.  Dr.  Torrey  and  Dr.  Hooker,  are  disposed  to  consider  it  a 
variety  of  the  same  species.  It  cannot  be  easily  determined  what 
constitutes  a  specific  difference,  and  what  should  be  regarded 
as  only  an  accidental  variation.  The  points  of  distinction  in 
this  plant,  however,  are  more  numerous  and  more  marked  than 
are  to  be  found  between  many  nearly  allied  species  in  other 
genera.  The  leaves,  when  just  opening,  are  completely  invest- 
ed, on  the  under  surface,  with  a  close,  velvety,  whitish  down, 
while  those  of  the  Botryapium  have  only  a  few  silken  hairs : 
and  a  similar  difference,  not  so  marked,  may  be  observed  in  the 
inflorescence.  The  leaves  are  less  sharply  serrated,  the  serra- 
tures  being  sometimes  hardly  visible.  The  racemes  are  longer, 
closer  and  more  erect  than  in  the  foregoing,  and  the  petals  of 
the  corolla  more  distinctly  obovate.  It  usually  occurs  in  low, 
moist  grounds,  and  is  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  conspicuous 
ornaments  of  swampy  woods.  The  fruit  is  more  juicy  and 
agreeable  than  that  of  the  former.  Still  there  is  not  in  the  fruit 
a  tithe  of  the  difference  which  we  observe  between  apples  from 
the  same  orchard,  and  growing  on  trees  which  sprung  from 
seeds  of  the  same  fruit 


XXVII.    3.  THE  SWAMP  PEAR.  445 

Looked  at  as  they  are  found  in  Massachusetts,  these  would, 
without  hesitation,  be  regarded  as  two  species.  But  when  all 
the  varieties,  from  the  northern  to  the  southern  extremities  of 
their  native  regions  are  examined,  and  found  to  run  into  each 
other  by  almost  imperceptible  gradations,  they  are  very  justly 
considered  as  only  forms  of  one  species.  It  is  after  such  an  ex- 
amination that  Drs.  Torrey  and  Gray  have  arranged  all  the 
varieties  under  the  one  species  A.  Canadensis. — Flora  of  N.  A., 
I,  473. 

Dr.  Hooker  says  (Fl.  Bor.  Am.  I,  203)  that  Amelanchier  ovdlis, 
according  to  Dr.  Richardson,  abounds  in  the  sandy  plains  of 
the  Saskatchawan,  where  its  wood  is  prized  by  the  Cree  Indians 
for  making  pipe-stems  and  arrows  ;  and  it  is  thence  termed  by 
the  Canadian  voyageurs,  bois  de  Jleche.  Its  berries,  which  are 
about  the  size  of  a  pea,  are  the  finest  fruit  in  the  country  ;  and 
are  used  by  the  Cree  Indians,  both  in  a  fresh  and  in  a  dried 
state.  They  "  make  excellent  puddings,  very  little  inferior  to 
plum-pudding." 

This  plant,  as  described  by  the  different  botanists,  affords  a 
striking  instance  of  the  effect  produced  by  climate.  It  is  spoken 
of  by  Dr.  Richardson,  in  the  cold  regions  where  he  found  it 
growing,  as  quite  a  tree.  In  England,  where  it  has  been  culti- 
vated, it  is  a  small  tree.  In  Massachusetts,  one  variety  is  a 
low  tree,  the  other  a  shrub.  Dr.  Darlington  describes  it,  in 
Pennsylvania,  as  having  a  stem  from  two  to  four  or  five  feet 
high  ;  and  Elliot  speaks  of  it  as  occurring,  very  rarely,  as  a 
small  shrub  two  to  three  feet  high.  It  is  a  northern  plant,  and 
he  probably  noticed  it  on  its  very  extreme  southern  limit. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  experiment,  well  worth  trying, 
to  ascertain  how  far  this  fruit  might  be  improved  by  the  same 
kind  of  cultivation  which  has  been  given  to  the  apple.  All  of 
the  apple  family  seem  to  be  particularly  susceptible  of  amelio- 
ration. And  if,  by  a  long  course  of  improvement,  this  fruit 
should  be  made  to  differ  from  its  original  stock  as  much  as  the 
golden  pippin  differs  from  the  sour  crab-apple  from  which  it  is 
supposed  to  have  been  formed,  there  are  few  fruits  now  known 
superior  to  what  it  would  become. 


446        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  Quince  Tree,  Cydbnia,  is  always  a  low,  crooked  tree, 
with  straggling,  tortuous  branches.  The  flowers  are  large 
and  showy,  so  that  it  would  be  well  worth  cultivating  for  them 
only;  and  the  rich  golden  or  orange  fruit,  weighing  down  the 
branches  in  autumn,  is  still  more  beautiful.  The  dark  leaves, 
too,  showing,  when  moved  by  the  wind,  their  whitish,  downy 
under  surface,  contrast  agreeably  with  most  of  the  other  plants 
among  which  it  makes  its  appearance  in  the  corner  of  a  garden. 

It  springs  readily  from  seed,  but  is  most  easily  and  commonly 
propagated  by  layers.  It  may,  also,  be  grafted  upon  the  thorn, 
and  thus  add  its  beauty  to  the  useful  hedge. 

It  is  said  by  De  Candolle  to  be  native  in  rocky  places  and 
hedges  in  the  south  of  Europe. — Prod.  II,  638. 


FAMILY  XXVIII.    THE  ALMOND  FAMILY.     AMYGDAXLEJE. 

LlNDLEY. 

Trees  or  shrubs,  with  simple,  alternate  leaves,  white  or  pink 
flowers,  a  calyx  of  5  parts,  a  corolla  of  5  petals,  a  single  style, 
and  fruit  a  drupe,  or  what  is  usually  called  a  stone  fruit.  They 
are  distinguished  from  the  Rose  and  Apple  Family  by  the  fruit 
being  a  drupe,  by  their  bark  yielding  gum,  and  by  the  presence 
of  hydrocyanic  acid  in  the  leaves  and  kernel.  The  family  in- 
cludes the  Almond  tree,  the  Peach  tree,  the  Apricot  tree,  the 
Plum  and  the  Cherry  trees. 

The  plants  belonging  to  this  family,  are,  with  only  three  or 
four  exceptions,  natives  of  cold  or  temperate  climates  of  the 
northern  hemisphere.  They  are  distinguished,  in  their  proper- 
ties, from  those  of  the  two  preceding  families,  with  which  they 
have  many  points  of  resemblance,  and  to  which  they  are  by 
some  writers  united,  by  the  presence,  in  the  kernel  and  leaves, 
of  the  deadly  poison  known  by  the  name  of  prussic  or  hydro- 
cyanic acid.  This  renders  the  kernels  of  the  peach  and  cherry 
so  dangerous  when  used  as  food,  and  gives  to  noyau  and  the 


XXVIII.  THE  ALMOND  FAMILY.  447 

other  intoxicating  liquors  which  are  flavored  by  them,  their 
fatal  effects ;  and  this  principle,  in  the  leaves  of  some  species  of 
cherry,  as  in  the  goat-killing  cherry  of  Nepaul,  and  the  Carolina 
cherry  of  this  country,  and  in  the  leaves  of  our  common  black 
cherry,  when  wilted,  renders  them  poisonous  to  some  quadru- 
peds. This  principle,  however,  is  diffused  in  so  slight  a  pro- 
portion through  the  pulp  of  the  fruit,  that  the  cherry,  the  peach 
and  nectarine,  the  plum  and  the  apricot,  are  a  very  delicious, 
and,  in  moderate  quantities,  a  perfectly  wholesome  food. 

The  prunes,  which  we  import  from  France,  are  the  dried  fruit 
of  some  varieties  of  the  plum,  which  contain  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  sugar  to  preserve  the  fruit  from  decay,  and  even  to  yield 
a  considerable  quantity  of  brandy  by  distillation.  The  leaves 
of  the  sloe  and  bird  cherry  of  Europe  have  been  used  to  adul- 
terate the  black  teas  of  China  and  even  to  take  their  place.  Oil 
is  expressed  from  the  kernel  of  the  almond,  and  from  that  of 
some  of  the  plums.  The  bark  of  plants  of  this  family  contains 
an  astringent  principle,  which  renders  it  capable  of  being  used 
in  tanning,  in  dyeing  yellow,  and  as  a  tonic  and  febrifuge  in 
medicine.  All  of  them  yield  a  gum  not  unlike  gum  tragacanth 
or  gum  arabic,  which  is  highly  nutritious.  It  is  doubtful  if  it 
ever  flows  without  injuring  the  tree;  and,  if  the  wound  be  not 
healed,  the  loss  is  at  last  fatal. 

Plants  of  this  family,  native  and  introduced,  are  peculiarly 
liable  to  the  attacks  of  insects.  Canker-worms  of  one  or  of 
several  species,  {Phalatna  and  A?iisopteryx,  Harris,  332 — 4), 
often  strip  them  of  their  leaves;  the  tent-caterpillars,  (Clisio- 
cdmpa  Americana,  ib.  266 — 9),  pitch  their  tents  among  the 
branches,  and  carry  on  their  dangerous  depredations;  the  slug- 
worms,  the  offspring  of  a  fly  called  Selandria  cerasi,  (ib.  383 — 
4),  reduce  the  leaves  to  skeletons  and  thus  destroy  them ;  the 
cherry- weevils,  (Rhynchafnus  cerasi,  ib.  68),  penetrate  their 
bark,  cover  their  branches  with  warts,  and  cause  them  to 
decay ;  and  borers,  {Buprestis  divaricdta,  ib.  43,  or  the  still 
more  pernicious  jEgeria  exiliosa,  p.  233),  gnaw  galleries  in 
their  trunks  and  devour  the  inner  bark  and  sap-wood. 


448        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


XXVIII.     1.     THE  PLUM  TREE.     PRUNUS.     L. 

This  genus  is  distinguished  by  its  drupe,  which  is  ovate  or 
oblong,  fleshy,  very  smooth,  covered  with  a  glaucous  or  bluish 
powder  ;  with  the  nut  compressed,  acute  at  both  ends,  smooth, 
and  not  porous  or  furrowed,  except  by  a  slight  furrow  along  the 
margins.  It  contains  low  trees,  with  deciduous  leaves  which  are 
folded  together  in  the  bud, — natives  of  North  America,  Europe 
and  Asia,  many  of  them  thorny  in  a  wild  state.  They  have 
showy  flowers  in  fascicles  or  sessile  umbels,  rarely  solitary,  in 
the  axil  of  the  last  year's  leaves;  and  most  of  them  bear  edible 
fruits.  The  most  highly  valued  cultivated  plum  trees  are  orig- 
inally from  the  East,  where  they  have  been  known  from  time 
immemorial.  In  many  countries  of  eastern  Europe,  domestic 
animals  are  fattened  on  their  fruits;  and  an  alcoholic  liquor 
called  Raki  is  obtained  from  them ;  as  is  Zwetschen-  Wasser, 
in  Germany ;  and  they  yield  a  white,  crystallizable  sugar. 
They  thrive  best  on  calcareous  soils,  but  will  grow  in  any 
soil  tolerably  free,  and  not  over  moist,  especially  with  a  sub- 
soil of  clay. 

Most  or  all  the  cultivated  plums,  damsons  and  gages,  are 
varieties  of  the  Primus  domestica,  L.,  the  cultivated  Plum  Tree. 
It  is  characterized  by  having  its  branches  without  thorns,  leaves 
lanceolate  or  oval,  concave  on  the  surface,  usually  acute;  and 
flowers  mostly  solitary.  It  is  found  growing  wild  in  elevated 
situations  in  southern  Europe. — (D  C.  Prod.  533.)  This  spe- 
cies, as  also  P.  i?islititia,  the  Bullace  Plum,  are  considered  by 
some  botanists  as  varieties  of  the  Sloe  Thorn,  P.  spinbsa,  which 
is  usually  a  thorny  shrub  or  small  tree. 

The  wood  of  all  the  kinds  of  the  plum  is  compact,  close- 
grained,  hard,  and  beautifully  veined,  and  takes  a  fine  polish. 
It  is  much  valued  and  used  by  turners,  cabinetmakers  and  mu- 
sical instrument  makers,  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and,  in 
England,  the  wood  of  the  sloe  is  used  for  handles  of  tools,  teeth 
of  rakes,  and  other  small  articles,  and  for  walking-sticks. 


XXVIII.     1.  THE  YELLOW  PLUM.  I  !<j 


Sp.  1.     The  Beach  Plum.     P.  maritima.     Wanganheim. 

Several  varieties  of  this  plum  are  found  on  Plum  Island,  and 
other  islands  on  the  coast  and  on  the  beaches,  and  by  the  road- 
side on  the  Cape,  and  in  arid,  sandy  places,  to  the  distance  of 
twenty  miles  or  more  from  the  sea.  It  is  a  low  shrub,  with 
straggling  branches,  two  to  four  feet  in  height,  growing  usually 
in  bunches  among  the  loose  stones  or  in  the  sand.  The  stem 
is  of  a  very  dark  purple,  almost  black,  erect  or  prostrate,  with 
oblong,  horizontal,  light  ashen  dots.  The  shoots  are  stout, 
brown,  downy,  dotted  with  orange.  The  leaves  are  rather 
closely  set,  on  short,  downy  footstalks,  elliptical  or  oblong,  or 
oval,  acute  at  each  extremity,  serrate,  rather  stiff,  smooth  above, 
downy,  especially  on  the  mid-rib  and  veins  beneath,  with  usu- 
ally 1  or  2  glands  near  the  base  or  on  the  footstalk.  The  flowers 
appear  just  before  the  leaves,  along  the  sides,  near  the  ends  of 
the  branches,  from  the  axils  of  last  year's  leaves,  in  numerous 
umbels  of  2  to  6  flowers.  Footstalk  slender,  half  an  inch  longx 
smooth  or  with  minute  pubescence.  Segments  of  the  calyx 
green,  obtuse,  slightly  downy.  Petals  inversely  egg-shaped, 
white.  Fruit  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter,  globu- 
lar, varying  from  crimson  to  purple  in  different  varieties.  It 
ripens  in  August  and  September.  Flowers  in  May  and  June. 
This  is  an  agreeable  fruit,  and  is  preserved  in  considerable 
quantities  by  the  inhabitants  of  Plymouth  and  other  maritime 
towns,  as  a  sweetmeat. 

Sp.  2.     The  Yellow  Plum.     Canada  Plum.     P.  Americana. 

Marshall. 

I  have  not  found  this  species  growing  wild  in  Massachusetts, 
although,  as  it  occurs  on  the  north  and  south  of  us.  it  will  pro- 
bably be  found  here.  It  is  often  cultivated  for  its  fruit,  in  the 
northern  parts  of  New  England,  and  makes  a  beautiful  appear- 
ance in  August,  when  the  fruit  is  ripe  and  has  a  rich  red  or  yel- 
low color. 

It  is  a  small,  round-headed  tree,  eight  to  fifteen  feet  high,  with 
crowded,  crooked,  irregular  branches,  the  older  ones  rough  and 
58 


450       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

somewhat  thorny.  The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  very  dark  red- 
dish or  bronze  green  bark,  resembling  that  of  the  cherry  tree ; 
the  smaller  branches  of  a  reddish  bronze  color.  The  footstalks 
of  the  leaves  are  short,  reddish,  with  often  two  glands  on  the 
raised  border  near  the  expansion  of  the  leaf.  The  leaves  are 
broad  ovate,  oblong  oval  or  pear-shaped,  tapering  suddenly  to 
a  long  point,  and  edged  with  rounded,  double  serratures,  with 
a  minute,  shining,  callous  point  at  the  extremity  of  each  ;  smooth 
but  conspicuously  impressed  with  furrows  over  the  veins  above; 
pale,  and  somewhat  downy  along  the  mid-rib  and  at  the  axils  of 
the  veins  beneath.  The  flowers  come  out  in  April  or  May,  in 
close,  crowded  bunches  of  3  or  4  each,  near  the  ends  of  last 
year's  branches.  The  fruit  is  roundish  ovoid,  somewhat  flat- 
tened, and  with  a  furrow  on  one  side,  reddish  orange,  when 
ripe,  with  a  yellowish  pulp,  and  a  thick,  leathery  skin.  The 
stone  is  much  flattened  and  bordered  with  a  thin  border  on  all 
sides ;  kernel  flattened,  very  bitter.  The  fruit,  which  is  often 
nearly  an  inch  in  diameter,  is  sometimes  sweet  and  pleasant, 
but  usually  rather  austere,  and  used  chiefly  for  preserving  in 
sugar;  but  much  improved,  both  in  size  and  flavor,  according 
to  Dr.  Darlington,  by  cultivation.  Few  attempts  of  this  kind 
have  been  made.  If  they  have  already  been  rewarded  by  strik- 
ing improvement,  what  might  we  not  expect  from  a  well  con- 
ducted series  of  experiments,  such  as  those  of  Van  Mons,  con- 
tinued for  many  years  ?  No  native  fruit  promises  better  in 
this  respect,  as  it  has  a  wider  range  than  almost  any  other 
North  American  plant. 

Introduced  species. 
Wild  Bullace  Tree.     P.  insititia.     L. 

A  bush  or  small  tree,  found  on  the  banks  of  Charles  River, 
in  Cambridge,  by  road-sides  at  Cohasset,  and  in  other  places  in 
the  vicinity  of  Boston. 

The  shorter,  lateral  branches,  often  end  in  a  thorn.  The 
leaves  are  an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  generally  obovate, 
or  ovate-lanceolate,  acute,  tapering  at  base,  serrate,  downy  be- 
neath.    The  flowers  and  leaves  come  from  different  buds,  by 


XXVIII.     2.     THE  NORTHERN  RED  CHERRY.         451 

which  circumstance  it  is  distinguished  from  the  Sloe,  which 
also  is  naturalized  in  some  parts  of  the  country.  The  segments 
of  the  calyx  are  entire,  and  obtuse.  Petals  white,  inversely 
egg-shaped.  The  stamens  are  numerous.  Style  single,  longer 
than  the  stamens.  The  fruit  is  usually  round  and  black,  cov- 
ered with  a  yellowish  bloom. 

This  plant  was  first  pointed  out  to  me  by  my  friend  E.  Tuck- 
erman,  and  I  have  since  repeatedly  met  with  it. 

XXVIII.     2.     THE   CHERRY.     CERASUS.     Jussieu. 

The  name  Cerasus,  derived  from  a  town  on  the  Black  Sea, 
from  whence  this  tree  is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  into 
Italy,  designates  a  genus  of  about  forty  species,  natives  of  all 
the  temperate  regions  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  They  are 
trees  or  shrubs,  with  smooth,  serrated  leaves,  which  are  folded 
together  when  young,  and  white  or  reddish  flowers,  growing  in 
bunches,  like  umbels,  preceding  the  leaves,  or  in  terminal  ra- 
cemes, accompanying  or  following  the  leaves.  The  fruit  is  a 
fleshy  drupe,  globose,  or  with  a  hollow  at  base,  and  containing 
a  nearly  globose,  smooth  nut.  A  few  species,  with  numerous 
varieties,  produce  valuable  fruits  ;  nearly  all  are  remarkable 
for  the  abundance  of  their  early  flowers,  sometimes  rendered 
double  by  cultivation.  Ten  species  are  found  in  this  country 
north  of  Mexico,  of  which  the  following  occur  in  Massachusetts. 

Section  First. — Flowers  in  umbels,  pedicels  l-floweredy  spring- 

ing  from  the  buds. 

This  includes  most  of  the  cultivated  cherries,  and 

Sp.  1.    The  Northern  Red  Cherry.     C.  Pennsylvanica. 

Torrey  and  Gray. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  North  American  Flora,  Plate  98. 

The  northern  Red  Cherry  is  a  small,  slender  tree,  rising 
sometimes  to  the  height  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet,  with  a 
diameter  of  six  to  nine  inches.  I  have  met  with  it  in  many 
parts  of  the  State,  and  it  occurs  abundantly  on  the  plains  in  the 
central  counties.     On  the  top  and   steep  sides  of  Wachusett,  it 


152        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

is  very  abundant.  Trunk  erect,  covered'  with  the  greenish, 
brown,  polished,  membranaceous  bark,  characteristic  of  the 
cherry,  with  ferruginous,  swelling  dots.  New  shoots  and  spray 
very  slender,  with  bark  of  a  lighter,  reddish  brown.  Leaves 
numerous,  alternate  or  in  pairs,  rarely  threes,  at  the  end  of  the 
branchlets,  on  short,  small  petioles,  which  are  channelled  above ; 
narrow,  lanceolate  or  ovate-lanceolate,  with  fine,  rounded,  glan- 
dular serratures,  acuminate,  almost  folded  together,  and  nod- 
ding at  the  end,  of  nearly  the  same  light  green  above  and  be- 
neath ;  texture,  thin  and  delicate  ;  secondary  nerves  numerous, 
parallel ;  veins  finely  reticulate.  Flowers  rather  large,  in  nearly 
sessile  umbels.  Segments  of  the  calyx  thin,  rounded  at  the 
end,  turned  back.  Petals  white,  broad,  inversely  egg-shaped. 
Fruit  reddish,  in  very  short  corymbs  of  from  2  to  5,  taking  the 
place  of  the  leaves  at  the  end  of  last  year's  shoots,  or  in  the 
axils  of  leaves  on  peduncles  one  inch  long ;  with  little  flesh, 
very  sour,  and  with  a  large  stone.  The  fruit  is  not  abundant, 
but  occasionally  a  few  branches  are  found  completely  loaded 
with  it. 

The  wood  is  hard,  close-grained,  and  of  a  reddish  color,  much 
resembling  that  of  the  common  wild  cherry ;  but  as  the  trees 
are  not  often  more  than  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  I  know 
not  that  it  would  be  of  any  considerable  use.  As  it  grows  in 
the  most  exposed  situations,  it  might  probably  grow  readily,  if 
sown  or  planted.  In  some  parts  of  Maine  and  New  Hamp- 
shire, this  tree  springs  up  abundantly  on  soil  which  has  been 
recently  laid  open  to  the  sun  in  clearing,  and  especially  after  it 
has  been  burnt  over.  There  is  a  common  opinion  among  the 
ignorant,  that  it  springs  up,  without  seed,  in  consequence  of 
some  action  of  heat  upon  the  soil.  If  they  would  take  the 
pains  to  examine,  they  would,  however,  find  great  quantities 
of  the  nuts  or  stones,  as  they  are  called,  just  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  In  climbing  the  wild  hills  of  those  States,  I 
have  repeatedly  observed,  in  the  beds  of  the  streams,  often  the 
most  practicable  paths,  surprising  numbers  of  the  nuts  of  this 
cherry,  though  there  were  no  trees  of  the  kind  within  a  great 
distance. 

This  tree  is  found,  according  to  Hooker,  throughout  Canada, 


XXVIII.     3.         THE  BLACK  CHERRY.  453 

as  far  as  the  Saskatchawan,  and  from  Newfoundland  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  found  in  all  the  New  England  States, 
but  is  not  known  beyond  Pennsylvania. 

Sp.  2.     The  Sand  Cherry.     C.  pumila.     Michaux. 

This  has  been  found  on  Blue  Hills,  in  Milton,  by  B.  D.  Greene, 
and  rarely  elsewhere  in  the  State.  It  usually  trails  along  the 
ground,  raising  its  branches  from  three  or  four,  to  twenty  inches 
high.  The  branches  are  brownish,  with  transparent,  grayish, 
outer  bark.  The  leaf-buds  are  small  and  purple ;  the  leaves 
are  usually  inversely  egg-shaped  or  lance-shaped,  often  nearly 
entire  or  serrate  with  a  few  indistinct  teeth  above,  acute  or 
rounded  at  the  extremity,  tapering  to  a  slender  footstalk,  with 
linear,  glandular-serrate  stipules  at  base  when  young ;  pale  green 
above,  whitish  beneath.  The  flowers,  2  or  3  together,  are  on 
slender  stems,  half  an  inch  long.  Segments  of  the  calyx  round- 
ed. Petals  white,  rather  small,  inversely  egg-shaped.  Stamens 
numerous.     Fruit  small,  dark  red,  eatable. 

Section  Second. — Flowers  in  racemes ;  terminating  leafy 

branches. 

Sp.  3.     The  Black  Cherry.     C.  serotina.     De  Candolle. 

A  tree  of  middling  size,  with  spreading  branches,  found  in 
dry  woods  and  often  left  growing  along  the  roads.  The  bark 
on  the  recent  shoots  is  green  or  olive-brown,  polished,  and  dot- 
ted with  minute,  orange  dots.  It  afterwards  becomes  darker, 
and  on  the  small  trunks  and  larger  branches,  is  of  the  reddish  or 
purplish  brown,  scattered  with  oblong,  horizontal  dots,  charac- 
teristic of  the  cherry.  Old  trunks  have  a  scaly  bark,  not  unlike 
that  of  some  of  the  pines.  The  leaves  are  ovate  or  lanceolate, 
oblong  or  obovate,  rounded  or  acute  at  base,  gradually  tapering 
to  a  point,  serrate  with  incurved  serratures,  polished  above, 
lighter  and  smooth  beneath,  with  sometimes  a  silken  pubescence 
along  the  lower  part  of  the  mid-rib.  Footstalk  half  an  inch 
long,  with  usually  2  to  5  tooth-like  glands  near  the  base  of  the 
leaf.     In  autumn,  the  leaves  turn  to  a  deep  orange,  sprinkled 


454       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

and  bordered  with  scarlet  and  crimson.  Later,  they  change  to 
a  pale,  ochre  yellow. 

The  flowers  are  small,  pretty  closely  set  by  short  stems,  on 
a  simple  raceme,  forming  the  end  of  a  footstalk,  four  to  six 
inches  long,  with  2  to  5  leaves  at  its  base.  It  is  erect  or  curved 
upward  in  flowering,  which  begins  at  the  bottom ;  afterwards 
bends  down  with  the  weight  of  the  fruit. 

The  wild  cherry  tree  rarely  rises,  in  Massachusetts,  above  the 
height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet.  It  is  found,  according  to  Dr.  Rich- 
ardson, as  far  north  as  the  Great  Slave  Lake  in  latitude  62°, 
where  it  attains  the  height  of  only  five  feet.  On  the  sandy 
plains  of  the  Saskatchawan,  it  rises  to  twenty  feet.  In  Maine, 
it  increases  to  thirty  or  more,  and  is  seldom  a  foot  in  diameter. 
In  western  New  York  it  rises  to  a  great  height  and  large  size ; 
but  it  reaches  its  perfection  on  the  Ohio  River,  where  Michaux 
found  it  sometimes  from  twelve  to  even  sixteen  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, and  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  high,  with  a 
trunk  of  uniform  size  and  undivided  to  the  height  of  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  feet. 

The  wood  is  of  a  light  red  or  fresh  mahogany  color,  growing 
darker  and  richer  with  age.  The  medullary  rays,  or  what  are 
commonly  called  the  silver  grain,  are  very  numerous,  and  more 
closely  arranged  than  in  almost  any  other  kind  of  wood ;  and 
when  cut  by  a  plane,  not  quite  parallel  to  them,  exhibit  a  beau- 
tiful appearance.  It  is  very  close-grained,  compact,  takes  a 
good  polish,  and  when  perfectly  seasoned,  is  not  liable  to  shrink 
or  warp.  It  is,  therefore,  particularly  suitable  and  much  em- 
ployed for  tables,  chests  of  drawers,  and  other  cabinet  work, 
and  when  polished  and  varnished,  is  not  less  beautiful  for  such 
articles  than  inferior  kinds  of  mahogany.  It  is  particularly 
valuable  for  window  sashes,  as  it  retains  a  permanently  smooth 
surface  and  is  little  affected  by  the  weather.  In  some  places  it 
is  used  to  make  the  posts  of  stair-rails  and  for  doors,  in  which 
it  looks  extremely  well.  Gun-stocks  and  other  small  articles 
are  also  made  of  it.  The  most  beautiful  portion,  commonly 
used,  is  that  portion  of  the  trunk  where  the  branches  begin. 
This  part  is  often  equal  to  the  better  kinds  of  mahogany.  It 
would  be  worth  the  experiment,  to  manufacture  that  part  of  the 


XXVIII.     3.         THE  BLACK  CHERRY.  455 

trunk  which  is  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  might  be 
found  as  beautiful  as  the  roots  of  the  black  and  yellow  birch. 
The  cabinet-makers  of  France  increase  the  beauty  of  an  inferior 
wood  of  this  genus,  (the  Mahaleb  cherry  tree,)  by  sawing  out 
the  boards  obliquely  across  the  trunk,  instead  of  parallel  to  its 
length.     This  brings  out  the  silver  grain  to  advantage. 

Little  other  use  is  made  of  the  fruit  than  to  communicate 
their  peculiar  and  very  agreeable  flavor,  by  maceration,  to  rum 
or  brandy,  making,  what  is  variously  called  cherry  brandy, 
cherry  rum,  cherry  bounce,  or  simply  cherry.  Many  other  uses 
might,  doubtless,  be  made  of  them.  The  flavor  is  decidedly 
superior  to  that  of  the  cherry,  from  varieties  of  which  the 
Kirchwasser  and  Maraschino  of  Alsace  and  Dalmatia  are 
made.  I  would  certainly  say  nothing  to  encourage  the  increased 
manufacture  of  intoxicating  liquors.  But,  if  they  are  to  be 
made,  it  would  be  better  that  some  fruit,  now  useless,  should  be 
employed  for  that  purpose,  than  that  the  staff  of  life  should  be, 
as  it  now  is,  converted  into  its  bane. 

The  bark  is  of  a  pleasant,  aromatic  bitter ;  leaving,  when 
chewed,  an  agreeable  taste  in  the  mouth.  An  infusion  of  it,  in 
boiling  water,  is  sometimes  drunk,  in  place  of  tea,  for  its  tonic 
and  presumed  purifying  effects. 

The  fruit  is  a  favorite  food  of  many  birds,  and  if  the  tree 
were  planted  along  the  borders  of  orchards  and  woods,  would 
serve  as  a  protection  to  other  fruit.  This  is,  also,  more  than 
almost  any  other  fruit  tree,  subject  to  the  ravages  of  caterpil- 
lars ;  it  might  thus  be  a  further  protection  to  cultivated  trees  by 
inviting  the  butterfly  from  them  to  itself. 

The  wild  black  cherry*  prefers  a  dry  soil,  but  grows  in  every 
soil  and  in  almost  any  situation.  It  may  be  raised  from  seed, 
in  which  case  the  fruit  should  be  sown  with  the  pulp  as  soon 
as  it  is  ripe.  It  is,  however,  then  subject  to  be  destroyed  by 
various  animals.  It  may  be  kept  in  sand  till  spring,  care  being 
taken  that  it  do  not  sprout.  It  may,  then,  be  sown  thin,  and 
covered  Avith  a  quarter  of  an  inch  of  soil.  Or  it  may  be  prop- 
agated by  means  of  the  sprouts  which  spring  from  about  the 
trunk,  near  the  root,  taken  off  with  a  few  radicles  attached. 

*  C.  sylvestris,  the  wild,  Black-fruited  Cherry  of  Europe. 


456        WOODY  PLANTS  OP  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sp.  4.    The  Choke  Cherry.    C.  Virginiana.    Torrey  and  Gray. 

A  shrub  or  small  tree,  often  only  one  or  two  feet  high,  and 
sometimes  rising  to  twelve  or  fifteen.  The  trunk  is  dark  colored, 
resembling  an  alder  more  than  a  common  cherry  tree  ;  it  rarely 
attains  a  diameter  of  two  or  three  inches,  and  throws  out  a  large 
number  of  branches,  which  in  May  are  covered  with  flowers, 
and  in  July  and  August  are  usually  bent  down  with  a  profusion 
of  fruit.  The  shoots  and  young  branches  are  of  an  ashen  gray 
or  olive  green,  growing  darker  after  the  first  year.  The  leaves 
are  broad-obovate,  oblong  or  elliptic,  rounded  or  sometimes 
heart-shaped  at  base,  abruptly  acuminate,  sharply  and  finely 
serrate,  smooth,  green,  and  polished  above,  much  lighter  be- 
neath, one  to  four  or  five  inches  long,  and  of  two  thirds  that 
width.  The  footstalk  is  one  half  or  three  fourths  of  an  inch 
long,  round,  channelled  above,  with  always  2,  sometimes  4  or 
more  glands  a  little  below  the  base  of  the  leaf,  or  at  equal  dis- 
tances further  down.  Fruit-stalks  three  to  six  inches  long, 
green,  with  2  or  3  small  leaves  near  the  base.  Fruit  on  short 
stems,  three  or  four  lines  in  diameter,  dark  red,  pleasant  to  the 
taste,  but  astringent.  It  differs  very  much  on  different  plants; 
being  sometimes  very  austere,  sometimes  very  juicy  and  pleas- 
ant, with  little  astringency. 


FAMILY  XXIX.     THE  BEAN  FAMILY.     LEGUMINO'S^. 

JUSSIEU. 

The  peculiar  distinction  of  this  family  is,  that  its  flowers  are 
butterfly-shaped,  or  its  fruits  in  pods,  and  it  often  possesses  both 
these  characters.  By  one  or  the  other  all  the  plants  of  the 
family  are  known ;  and  the  butterfly-shaped  flowers  are  a  cha- 
racter not  to  be  mistaken,  as  they  are  found  in  no  other  family. 
It  includes  herbs,  shrubs  and  trees.  The  leaves,  which  are 
usually  compound,  rarely  simple,  have  commonly  two  stipules 
at  the  base,  and  the  branches  have  often  projecting  ribs,  or 


XXIX.  THE  BEAN  FAMILY.  457 

membranous  wings.  It  is  an  immense  and  perfectly  natural 
family,  distributed  throughout  almost  every  part  of  the  globe. 
De  Candolle  describes,  as  belonging  to  it,  280  genera,  contain- 
ing upwards  of  2600  species.  Of  these,  900  species  are  found 
within  the  tropics,  nearly  1300  north  of  them  and  400  south. 
There  are,  at  present,  in  all,  not  less  than  3700  species. 

The  distinctive  characters  of  the  Family  are : — Sepals  united 
into  a  5-cleft  or  5-toothed  calyx  ;  the  odd  segment  lowest.  Pe- 
tals 5,  or,  by  abortion,  fewer  or  none,  either  papilionaceous  or 
regular,  the  odd  petal  superior.  Stamens  inserted,  with  the 
petals,  into  the  base  of  the  calyx,  distinct  or  in  one,  two,  or,  very 
rarely,  three  bundles.  Ovary  simple,  solitary,  very  rarely  2  or 
more,  free  from  the  calyx.  Ovules  solitary  or  several.  Style 
proceeding  from  the  upper  suture.  Fruit  a  legume,  or  some- 
times a  drupe.  Seeds  solitary  or  several,  attached  to  the  upper 
suture.  Embryo  straight  or  with  its  radicle  bent  back  along 
the  edge  of  the  cotyledons.  Cotyledons  either  remaining  under 
ground  in  germination,  or  rising  above  and  becoming  green  like 
the  leaves. 

Of  this  family,  Lindley  says,  "it  is  not  only  among  the  most 
extensive  that  are  known,  but  also  one  of  the  most  important  to 
man,  with  reference  to  the  objects  either  of  ornament,  of  utility, 
or  of  nutriment,  which  it  comprehends.  When  we  reflect  that 
the  Cercis,  which  renders  the  gardens  of  Turkey  resplendent 
with  its  myriads  of  purple  flowers  ;  the  Acacia,  not  less  valued 
for  its  airy  foliage  and  elegant  blossoms  than  for  its  hard  and 
durable  wood;. the  Braziletto,  Logwood,  and  Rosewoods  of  com- 
merce ;  the  Laburnum  ;  the  classical  Cytisus ;  the  Furze  and  the 
Broom,  both  the  pride  of  the  otherwise  dreary  heaths  of  Europe  ; 
the  Bean,  the  Pea,  the  Vetch,  the  Clover,  the  Trefoil,  the  Lucerne, 
all  staple  articles  of  culture  by  the  farmer,  are  so  many  species 
of  Leguminosae  ;  and  that  the  gums  Arabic  and  Senegal,  Kino, 
and  various  precious  medicinal  drugs,  not  to  mention  Indigo, 
the  most  useful  of  all  dyes,  are  products  of  other  species, — it 
will  be  perceived  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  an  order 
with  greater  claims  upon  the  attention." 

The  general  character  of  the  family  is,  to  be  eminently  whole- 
59 


458        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

some;  but  to  this  there  are  some  striking  exceptions.  The  seeds, 
roots  and  leaves  of  some  species  are  poisonous.  Many,  as  the 
Cassia,  Senna,  and  others,  have  cathartic  properties.  Some  of 
them  are  powerful  tonics,  and  others,  from  possessing  an  analo- 
gous principle,,  are  of  use  in  tanning.  A  few  have  narcotic  pro- 
perties, and  some  contain  a  principle  which  is  poisonous.  Gum 
lac,  gum  Arabic,  gum  anime,  gum  tragacanth,  and  manna,  are 
derived  from  plants  belonging  to  this  family.  Many  of  the 
woods  are  valuable  as  furnishing  dyes.  Such  are  Brazil  wood, 
Logwood  and  Sandal  wood.  The  most  valuable  of  the  bal- 
sams, the  Balsam  of  Copaiva,  Balsam  of  Peru,  and  of  Tolu, 
flow  from  wounds  in  others ;  and  the  fragrant  Tonka  bean  is 
the  produce  of  a  plant  of  the  same  comprehensive  family. 

De  Candolle,  in  his  Prodromus,  divides  this  vast  family  into 
four  sub-orders,  and  these  into  eleven  tribes,  which  are  still 
farther  divided  into  sub-tribes.     His  first  sub-order  is 

The  Papilionaceous,  Papilionacece,  L.,  comprehending  plants  having  a  calyx 
with  distinct  lobes  ;  and  a  papilionaceous,  or  butterfly- shaped  corolla.  These 
are  arranged  in  two  divisions,  the  first  comprehending  plants  whose  cotyledons 
in  germination  rise  above  the  surface  and  become  green  like  leaves  :  the  sec- 
ond, those  whose  fleshy  cotyledons  remain  beneath  the  surface.  To  this  latter 
division  belong  those  valuable  plants,  which,  under  the  name  of  pulse,  furnish 
so  much  food  to  man. 

Of  the  first  the  seeds  are  not  eaten,  but  it  includes  many  val- 
uable trees. 

TRIBE  I.     LO'TEJE. 

Sub-Tribe  IV.     Gattgeas.     DC.  II,  243. 

Legume  1-celled.  Stamens  in  two  bundles,  more  rarely  in  one.  Herbs, 
Shrubs  and  Trees.  (Galegeae,  Torrey,  Tribe  III,  Flora  of  N.  A.,  p.  292, 
which  also  includes  two  genera  of  the  sub-tribe  Clitbrece). 

THE  LOCUST  TREE.     ROBI'NIA.     L. 

A  North  American  genus  of  a  few  species  of  trees  or  shrubs, 
often  bearing  stipular  spines,  with  leaves  unequally  pinnate, 
the  leaflets  on  short  stems  with  little  stipules  at  base.  The 
flowers  are  white,  rose,  or  flesh-colored,  in  showy,  axillary  ra- 
cemes, usually  pendent.     The  calyx  has  5,  lanceolate  teeth,  the 


XXIX.  THE  LOCUST  TREE.  459 

two  upper  shorter  and  cohering  or  approximate.  The  banner 
of  the  corolla  is  ample,  the  keel  obtuse.  The  stamens  in  2 
bundles,  deciduous.  The  style  is  bearded  next  the  free  stamen. 
The  fruit  is  a  many-seeded  pod,  with  the  seed-bearing  edge 
margined,  and  with  thin  and  flat  valves. 

The  locust  trees,  particularly  the  Common,  are  subject  to 
the  assaults  of  many  insects.  The  leaves  of  the  common  locust 
serve  as  food  and  habitation  to  the  caterpillars  of  the  Tityrus 
skipper,  a  large,  brown  butterfly  with  honey-yellow  spots, 
(Harris's  Report,  p.  224,  where  is  found  an  interesting  account 
of  the  habits  of  the  caterpillar).  The  bark  is  punctured  and 
the  sap  sucked  by  the  two-spotted  tree-hopper,  (Membracis  bi- 
maculata,  ib.  p.  179).  The  pea-weevils,  (Bruchus  pisi,  ib.  p. 
55),  lay  their  eggs  in  the  seeds  as  they  do  in  those  of  the  pea 
and  other  leguminous  plants ;  and  the  grubs  of  an  Apion  beetle, 
(ib.  p.  59,)  inhabit  the  pods  and  eat  up  the  seeds.  The  grubs 
of  the  painted  Clytus  beetle,  (ib.  pp.  86  and  295,)  burrow  in  the 
bark  and  devour  the  soft  inner  portion,  in  autumn,  and  in  spring 
they  bore  through  the  sap-wood,  more  or  less  deeply  into  the 
trunk,  which  they  traverse  by  many  winding  and  irregular, 
upward  passages.  A  small  reddish  caterpillar  (supposed  by 
Dr.  Harris  to  belong  to  one  of  the  iEgerian  sphinges,  or  to  one 
of  the  Bombyces,  see  p.  295  of  his  Report),  lives  in  the  pith  of 
the  small  branches  and  trunks  of  very  small  trees.  The  irri- 
tation causes  the  twig  to  swell  and  become  spongy  in  the  parts 
affected,  and  easily  to  break  off  at  these  places.  The  large  ca- 
terpillar of  the  locust  tree  carpenter-moth,  (Xyleutes  Robinice, 
ib.  pp.  296 — 7),  bores  the  tree  in  various  directions,  appearing 
to  prefer  old  and  full  grown  trees.  For  full  accounts  of  these 
several  enemies  of  the  locust  tree,  which  threaten,  if  not  checked, 
to  exterminate  the  tree,  I  must  refer  to  the  admirable  Report  of 
Dr.  Harris. 

Two  species  of  locust,  besides  the  Common,  are  natives  of 
the  southern  parts  of  the  country  and  may  be  cultivated  here : 
R.  viscosa,  the  Clammy-barked  locust,  which  is  a  small  tree, 
with  large,  showy,  pale  pink  flowers ;  and  R.  hispida,  the  Rose 
Acacia,  a  very  beautiful  flowering  shrub. 


46U        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


The  Common  Locust  Tree.     R.  pseudacdcia.     L. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  104.      Figured  by  Michaux,  Plate  76. 
Three  varieties  of  the  tree  figured  in  Loudon's  Arboretum,  V,  71. 

The  locust,  in  Massachusetts,  is  never  of  a  first  rate  size  or 
height,  but  is  often  a  graceful  and  always  an  extremely  pictu- 
resque tree.  The  trunk  rises  sometimes  directly  upwards  to  a 
considerable  height  without  branches,  sometimes  inclined  to  one 
side,  and  very  irregular  and  bare,  sometimes,  on  the  edge  of  a 
wood,  feathering  down  to  the  ground  on  one  side.  The  bark  is 
thick,  and,  on  old  trees,  very  deeply  and  irregularly  furrowed 
with  long  furrows,  and  of  an  ashen  or  granite  color.  On  the 
branches  it  is  ash  gray,  and  on  the  slender,  wand-like  spray, 
purple  or  purplish  green.  The  soft  and  velvety  foliage  is  too 
smooth  to  retain  the  dust,  and  is  often  seen,  bright  and  clean,  on 
the  side  of  a  dusty  road.  While  the  heart  of  the  tree  is  so  liable 
to  the  attack  of  insects,  that  several  trees  are  not  often  seen 
together  which  do  not  present  a  dead  or  dying  limb,  the  leaves 
seem  peculiarly  exempt,  and  often  show  like  an  image  of  the 
freshness  and  vigor  of  youth,  in  contrast  with  the  melancholy 
one  of  premature  decay. 

Flowers  very  fragrant  and  beautiful,  in  long  pendulous  ra- 
cemes from  the  axil  of  the  upper  leaves.  The  partial  flower- 
stalks  half  an  inch  long.  Calyx  an  irregular,  purplish  tube, 
ending  in  2  obtuse  and  3  acute  segments.  Corolla  white,  but- 
terfly-shaped. The  lower  petal  nearly  round,  notched  at  the 
end  and  reflected,  yellow  in  the  middle.  Side  petals  oblong, 
irregular,  on  a  long  claw,  meeting  below  the  keel,  which  is 
formed  of  2  petals  grown  together  and  embracing  the  stamens ; 
these  united,  form  a  tube,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  the  curved 
style,  with  its  capitate  stigma. 

The  leaves  are  compound,  the  leaf-stalk  channelled  above, 
and  angled  beneath.  The  leaflets  are  from  9  to  25,  on  short 
petioles,  oblong,  elliptic  or  egg-shaped,  rounded  at  the  extremity, 
with  a  short  point,  smooth  or  silken-downy,  light  green  above, 
lighter  beneath.  At  the  foot  of  each  is  a  single,  minute,  linear 
stipule,  about  as  long  as  the  partial  footstalk.  Each  leaf  is 
folded  on  itself  before  opening,  and  the  half-expanded  leaflets 


XXIX.  THE  COMMON  LOCUST  TREE.  461 

are  straight  and  parallel  like  the  teeth  of  a  comb.  The  prickles 
are  at  the  base  of  the  leaves,  short,  somewhat  triangular,  di- 
lated at  base,  sharp,  dark  purple,  adhering  only  to  the  bark,  but 
persistent. 

The  root  is  not  large,  but  throws  out  numerous  fibres  which 
creep  extensively  in  every  direction,  just  below  the  surface,  the 
smaller  ones  often  forming  little  tubercles.  Searching  thus  for 
nutriment  where  it  is  most  abundantly  to  be  found,  the  tree  is 
of  remarkably  rapid  growth  while  young.  In  ten  years,  it  will 
reach  the  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  After  that,  however, 
except  in  exceedingly  rich  soil,  its  growth  is  comparatively 
slow.  It  would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  a  tree,  whose  roots 
run  so  near  the  surface,  should  be  exhausting  to  the  soil,  and  so 
it  is  often  considered.  I  am  assured,  however,  by  many  gentle- 
men, that  few  trees  are  less  injurious  to  the  grass  of  pastures, 
and  several  persons  have  recommended  that  it  should  be  planted 
on  the  borders  of  pasture  land  in  preference  to  any  other  tree. 
The  leaves  are  sweet  and  nutritious  to  cattle,  and  the  droppings 
of  the  tree  and  its  flowers  are  thought  to  have  a  favorable  effect 
on  the  growth  of  grass. 

The  locust  is  not  known  to  be,  nor  is  it  generally  considered, 
a  native  of  the  State  or  of  New  England  ;  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  grew  naturally  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Middle 
States.  Michaux  says  it  first  occurs  growing  naturally  between 
Lancaster  and  Harrisburg,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  latitude  of 
40°  20',  but  that,  west  of  the  mountains,  it  is  found  two  or  three 
degrees  further  north ;  and  that  it  abounds  most  in  the  valleys 
amongst  the  chains  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  It  does  not 
grow  spontaneously  near  the  sea-coast,  even  in  the  Southern 
States.  It  is  common  in  all  the  Western  States,  and  attains 
its  perfection  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  where,  in  a  fertile 
soil,  it  sometimes  exceeds  four  feet  in  diameter  and  a  height  of 
seventy  or  eighty  feet. 

The  wood  of  the  locust  is  of  a  remarkably  compact,  close  and 
fine  grain,  the  medullary  rays  or  plates  of  silver  grain  being 
closer  and  more  numerous  than  in  almost  any  other  tree.  It 
varies  in  color  in  different  varieties.  In  that  which  commonly 
grows  in  Massachusetts,  it  is  of  a  yellowish  white  or  straw  color. 


462       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

In  some,  it  is  of  a  greenish  yellow,  in  others,  of  a  reddish  color. 
This  last  is  considered  far  the  most  valuable  timber.  In  the 
Western  States,  it  is  said  there  is  a  black  variety.  These  vari- 
eties are  probably  dependent  on  the  qualities  of  the  soil.  All, 
however,  have  the  properties  of  strength  and  durability  in  a 
remarkable  degree.  And  in  these  respects  and  in  stiffness, 
hardness,  elasticity  and  weight,  the  best  locust  is  superior  to 
any  northern  oak.  According  to  Barton,  its  strength,  as  com- 
pared with  English  oak,  is  as  1867  to  1672.  The  weight  was 
found,  at  Brest,  in  1823,  to  be  one  sixth  greater  than  that  of 
oak.  Experiments  made  at  the  Royal  Naval  College  at  Wool- 
wich, show  its  lateral  strength  in  resisting  fracture,  to  be  to  that 
of  oak  as  100  to  75. 

As  long  ago  as  1601  or  1635,  for  accounts  differ,  the  locust 
tree  was  introduced  into  France  from  America  by  Jean  Robin 
or  his  son  Vespasian,  in  honor  of  one  or  the  other  of  whom,  it 
received  from  Linnaeus  the  name  of  Robinia.  Since  that  time, 
it  has  been  much  cultivated  in  that  country  and  in  England, 
for  the  beauty  of  its  foliage  and  the  fragrance  of  its  flowers. 
In  1823,  the  celebrated  Cobbett,  after  spending  some  time  in 
America,  went  back  to  England,  and  produced  a  great  sensa- 
tion by  his  writings  in  commendation  of  this  tree.  For  some 
of  the  purposes  for  which  he  recommended  it,  it  has  been  found 
of  little  value.  For  others,  its  importance  is  acknowledged. 
Where  resistance  to  a  strain  is  required,  it  is  considered  superior 
to  any  other  wood.  And  the  durability  of  the  heart- wood,  when 
employed  as  posts  or  in  fences,  or  in  other  situations  exposed 
to  the  weather,  is  ascertained  to  be  extraordinary. 

In  this  country,  the  value  of  the  timber  is  almost  universally 
known  and  acknowledged.  In  ship  building  it  is  employed  for 
floors  and  floor  timber,  in  preference  to  any  other  timber.  For 
treenails  it  is  preferred  to  every  other  wood,  and  great  quantities 
of  it  are  annually  exported  for  that  purpose.  In  the  Middle 
States,  where  it  grows  more  freely  and  abundantly  than  here, 
it  is  valued  for  all  uses  in  which  strength  is  required,  and  du- 
rability in  places  in  exposure  to  the  weather.  For  posts  of 
gates,  therefore,  and  for  sleepers,  it  has  been  found  invaluable. 
The  same  has  been  found  true  in  this  State,  and,  for  all  such 


XXIX.  THE  COMMON  LOCUST  TREE.  463 

purposes,  as  much  of  it  is  consumed  as  can  be  obtained.  The 
aborigines  of  the  south  used  the  wood  for  bows,  on  account  of 
its  toughness  and  elasticity.  It  is  used  for  mill-cogs  and  for 
other  articles  exposed  to  constant  wear. 

The  leaves  are  used,  in  some  parts  of  Europe,  either  fresh  or 
cured,  as  nourishment  for  horses;  the  seeds  are  found  very- 
nutritious  to  fowls.  The  leaves  may  be  made  a  substitute  for 
indigo  in  dyeing  blue,  and  the  flowers  are  used  by  the  Chinese 
for  dyeing  yellow. 

The  practice  of  planting  this  tree  by  road-sides  and  along  the 
enclosures  of  pasture  lands  has  much  increased,  of  late  years, 
but  has  been  checked  by  the  fact  that,  in  such  situations,  it  is 
exposed  to  the  inroads  of  an  insect,  whose  worm  penetrates  to 
the  heart  of  the  tree  and  destroys  its  life.  An  unexpected  remedy 
has,  however,  been  suggested  by  the  success  of  Joseph  Cogs- 
well, Esq.,  in  the  cultivation,  some  years  ago,  of  a  large  planta- 
tion of  the  locust.  He  found  that  when  it  forms  a  wood,  those 
trees  only  are  attacked  by  the  worm  which  form  the  outskirts, 
exposed  to  the  sun  and  free  air.  Whether  it  is  that  the  insect 
parent  of  the  worm  delights,  as  many  do,  in  the  sun  light,  and 
avoids  the  shade  of  the  woods,  or  from  whatever  cause,  it  was 
found  that  all  the  interior  of  the  plantation  was  free  from  its 
attacks.  If  this  conclusion  should  be  confirmed  by  further  ex- 
perience, it  will  be  best,  whenever  the  tree  is  cultivated  for  its 
timber,  to  plant  it  in  masses  of  several  acres  in  extent,  and  to 
substitute,  in  the  sunny  and  exposed  situations  which  it  has 
usually  held,  some  of  those  numerous  trees  which  flourish  best 
in  them. 

No  tree  promises  better,  as  a  cultivated  forest  tree,  than  this. 
Its  very  rapid  growth,  its  numerous  and  valuable  properties  as 
timber,  and  the  fact,  that  the  sap-wood  is  converted  into  heart- 
wood  earlier  than  in  almost  any  other  tree,  are  very  strong  re- 
commendations. It  is  the  experience  of  many  persons  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  State,  that  the  locust  grows  on  poor  land  better 
and  more  rapidly  than  any  species  of  hard  wood.  On  such 
land,  however,  large,  sound  timber  of  locust  cannot  be  produced, 
and  it  would  always  be  good  economy  to  fell  it  within  thirty  or 
forty  years,  or,  at  least,  not  to  allow  it  to  grow,  for  timber,  to  a 


464  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

great  age.  The  various  kinds  of  pine  are  better  adapted  to  the 
poorest  soils.  But  in  rich,  sandy  loam,  locust  trees  of  a  moder- 
ate timber  size  may,  probably,  be  produced  with  greater  ease 
and  in  a  shorter  time  than  any  trees  possessing  the  same  valu- 
able properties.* 

As  an  ornamental  tree,  it  must  continue  to  be  cultivated.  It 
is  true  that  it  is  liable  to  be  broken  by  the  wind,  and  that  it 
never  is  full  enough  of  branches  to  cast  a  deep  shade.  But  the 
beauty  of  its  foliage  is  almost  unrivalled,  and  such  pendent 
racemes  of  fragrant  flowers  are  found  on  no  other  tree. 

The  locust  may  readily  be  propagated  by  the  suckers  which 
spring  up  in  great  numbers,  to  some  distance,  around  the  tree. 
But  the  readiest  way  is  by  seed.  This,  which  is  ripe  in  Octo- 
ber, may  be  sown  immediately,  and  will  come  up  the  following 
summer.  Cobbett  recommended  that  the  seeds  should  be  pre- 
viously steeped  in  hot  water.  He  was,  however,  speaking  of 
seeds  which  had  been  sent  from  this  country  to  England ;  but 
he  professed  to  have  received  the  suggestion  from  those  ac- 
quainted with  the  cultivation  on  Long  Island,  where  it  has  been 
planted  more  extensively  than  in  any  other  part  of  this  country. 
If  the  seed  is  to  be  kept  over  the  winter,  it  should  be  preserved 
in  the  pod,  in  which  it  retains  its  vegetative  power  much  longer 
than  when  separated. 

It  should  be  sown  in  a  rich,  loamy  soil,  and  covered  lightly 
to  the  depth  of  one  fourth  or  one  half  of  an  inch.  The  plants 
will  often  grow  from  two  to  three  or  four  feet  high  in  a  single 
season,  and  may  be  immediately  transplanted,  and  with  less  of 
root  than  almost  any  other  tree. — (Loudon,  Arb.  624).  The 
most  agreeable  effect  is  produced  by  trees  standing  alone  or  in 
groups  of  a  few  together.  If  planted  for  the  timber,  it  should 
be,  as  has  already  been  said,  in  plantations  of  several  acres. 

In  the  same  family  is  found  the  Gleditsia,  a  native  of  the 
south,  one  species  of  which,  G.  triacanihtts,  the  Sweet  Locust 
or  Honey  Locust,  is   sometimes  found  in  this  State,  growing 

*  William  Buckminster,  Esq.,  states,  in  the  N.  E.  Farmer,  of  July  16,  1830,  that 
a  sprout  from  a  young  stump  of  Yellow  Locust  grew  sixteen  and  a  half  feet  in  one 
summer;  and  that  it  is  not  uncommon,  on  good  land,  to  witness  a  growth  of  eight 
and  ten  feet. 


XXIX.  THE  COMMON  LOCUST  TREE.  465 

well  in  a  rich  soil  in  sheltered  situations ;  remarkable  for  its 
triple  thorns,  its  doubly  pinnate  leaves,  and  its  pods  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  inches  in  length. 

Two  other  trees  of  this  family,  the  Kentucky  Coffee  Tree, 
Gymnocladus  Canadensis,  and  the  Canada  Judas  Tree,  Cercis 
Canadensis,  grow  naturally  as  far  north  as  this,  though  I  know 
not  that  they  have  been  found  native  in  Massachusetts.  Both 
are  occasionally  cultivated  here  as  ornamental  trees.  The  for- 
mer is  not  remarkable  for  its  beauty,  though  striking  by  its  sin- 
gular appearance.  The  latter,  often  called  the  Red  Bud,  is 
curious  from  being  covered  with  bunches  of  flowers  of  a  rose 
color,  before  the  leaves  begin  to  appear.  They  give  a  brilliant 
appearance  to  the  whole  tree  except  the  extremities  of  the 
branches.  The  leaves,  which  begin  to  come  out  while  the 
flowers  are  expanded,  are  folded  together,  before  opening,  on 
the  mid-rib  ;  they  are  broad,  heart-shaped  and  pointed,  and 
very  smooth  above  and  beneath. 

The  Red  Bud  is  a  fine  showy  tree,  early  in  the  season,  and 
not  without  beauty  at  all  times. 


60 


466        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


PLANTS   WITH   MANY  PETALS,  WHICH    GROW,   TOGETHER  WITH  THE   STA- 
MENS, ABOUT  OR  UPON  A  DISK  SURROUNDING  THE  SEED-VESSEL. 


FAMILY  XXX.     THE  VINE  FAMILY.     VITAyCEJE.     Jcssieu. 

The  Vines  are  trailing  or  climbing  shrubs,  with  swollen,  sepa- 
rable joints,  and  alternate  leaves  with  stipules.  On  the  side  of 
the  stem  opposite  the  leaves,  spring  the  footstalks  which  bear 
the  clusters  of  flowers.  When  the  flowers  are  abortive,  the 
footstalk  is  changed  into  a  tendril ;  and  tendrils  opposite  the 
leaves  are  peculiar  to  this  family.  The  flowers  are  small, 
greenish,  and  commonly  perfect;  calyx  minute,  nearly  entire, 
5-toothed;  petals  5,  distinct,  caducous;  stamens  as  many  as 
the  petals  and  opposite  them,  inserted  on  the  surface  of  the 
disk ;  ovary  2-celled,  with  2  erect  ovules  side  by  side  in  each 
cell;  style  short  or  wanting;  stigma  simple.  Fruit  a  round, 
pulpy  berry,  with  1  or  more  cells  and  1  or  more  seeds.  Seeds 
erect,  with  a  bony  shell.  Embryo  straight,  short ;  cotyledons 
flat,  lanceolate ;  radicle  inferior. — (Flore  Franpaise,  V,  857.) 
Plants  of  this  family  have  acid  properties  and  yield  sugar. 
They  are  found  in  the  woods  of  the  milder  and  hotter  parts  of 
both  hemispheres.  There  are  two  genera  in  this  State :  1, 
the  Grape  Vine,  Vitis,  with  entire  leaves ;  and  2,  the  Virginian 
Creeper,  Ampelopsls,  with  leaves  divided  into  five  parts. 

XXX.     1.     THE  GRAPE  VINE.     VITIS.     L. 

This  is  a  small  genus,  thus  characterized :  Calyx  nearly  en- 
tire ;  petals  5,  commonly  united  at  the  apex,  but  distinct  at 
base  and  falling  off  like  a  cap;  stamens  5;  style  short,  coni- 
cal, stigma  dilated.  Peduncles  sometimes  changed  into  ten- 
drils. Flowers,  in  the  North  American  species,  perfect  or  con- 
taining only  stamens,  or  only  pistils,  on  the  same  or  different 
plants. 


XXX.     1.  THE  FOX  GRAPE.  467 

The  wine -producing  grape  vines  of  Europe  are  varieties  of 
one  species,  a  native  of  the  temperate  parts  of  Asia,  but  intro- 
duced, at  a  very  remote  period,  into  Greece,  and  afterwards  into 
Italy  and  thence  into  Central  and  Western  Europe.  In  its  wild 
state  it  produces  berries  not  larger  than  currants.  The  numer- 
ous valuable  varieties  have  been  produced  by  long  continued 
culture  in  favorable  climates  and  soils.  It  flourishes  best  be- 
tween the  parallels  of  30°  and  45°  of  north  latitude;  but  is 
cultivated  successfully  as  far  north  as  47°,  in  the  west  of 
France;  as  far  as  4S°  or  49°,  in  Hungary  and  on  the  Don ;  and 
on  the  Rhine  as  far  as  50°.  The  trunk  sometimes  attains  a 
great  size ;  in  rare  instances,  even  three  feet  in  diameter.  The 
wood  is  hard,  close-grained,  smooth,  and  susceptible  of  a  fine 
polish.  The  fruit  is  wholesome  and  nutritious,  and  forms  an 
important  article  of  food  in  several  countries  of  Europe. 

Most  of  the  species  of  vine  native  with  us  produce  no  valua- 
ble fruit.  Possibly  use  might  be  made  of  their  leaves.  Sir 
James  Hall,  a  distinguished  experimental  philosopher,  father 
of  Capt.  Hall,  the  traveller,  ascertained  that  the  leaves  of  the 
grape  vine,  dried  in  the  shade,  made  an  excellent  substitute  for 
tea.  Treated  like  malt,  they  produce  a  liquor  of  a  vinous  qual- 
ity, which  forms  a  substitute  for  beer,  and  which  may  be  con- 
verted into  a  valuable  vinegar. 

Four,  perhaps  five,  species  of  grape  vine  are  found  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Sp.  1.     The  Fox  Grape.     Common  Grape.      V.  labrusca.     L. 

This  is  the  common  wild  grape  of  Massachusetts,  and  is 
found  in  every  part,  in  rich  low  grounds,  overspreading  clumps 
of  bushes,  climbing  to  the  tops  of  trees,  and  embowering  them 
with  its  thick  and  abundant  foliage,  or  covering  walls  and 
rocks.  It  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  other  vines  by  the 
tawny  down  which  covers  the  branches,  leaf-  and  flower-stalks 
and  tendrils.  The  recent  shoots  are  of  a  light  green,  downy, 
and  sometimes  dotted  with  brown  dots.  Leaf-stalks  large, 
round.  Mature  leaves  heart-shaped,  5-angled,  orbicular,  some- 
times 3-  or  5-lobed,  sinuses  rounded  or  obtuse,  lobes  often  acu- 
minate ;    very   obtusely   dentate,    with    the    teeth   mucronate ; 


468        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

smooth  or  slightly  pubescent  above ;  abundantly  white,  downy 
or  woolly,  and  ferruginous  along  the  veins,  beneath;  down 
often  tawny ;  principal  veins  5,  and,  with  the  secondary  veins 
and  veinlets,  prominent;  young  leaves  with  a  rusty  down,  par- 
ticularly on  the  nerves  and  veins,  on  both  surfaces.  Tendrils 
slender,  once  or  twice  divided.  The  racemes  of  flowers  are 
short,  with  usually  one  short  branch,  the  flowers  crowded  in 
umbels. 

The  fruit  of  this  vine  varies  much  in  size,  color,  and  time  of 
maturity,  as  well  as  in  taste.  The  berries  are  from  one  half  to 
three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  varieties  is  the  Summer  White 
Grape  or  Early  White.  In  appearance,  it  presents  some  pecu- 
liarities. The  leaves  are  on  rather  long,  bristly  and  downy  foot- 
stalks, with  a  rusty  down  closely  covering  the  under  surface. 
The  fruit  is  two  thirds  or  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
round,  pale  green,  or  of  the  translucent  color  of  the  Malaga 
grape,  when  just  ripe,  afterwards  turning  red.  It  is,  in  some 
varieties,  very  agreeable  to  the  taste.  It  ripens  in  the  last  of 
July  and  in  August  and  September.  I  have  gathered  some 
of  this  variety  in  the  woods,  decidedly  superior  to  the  Isabella 
grape. 

Another  very  common  variety  is  the  Early  or  Summer  Fox 
Grape.  Of  this  the  fruit  is  about  seven  eighths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  of  a  very  deep  glossy  purple,  almost  black,  with  a 
bluish  bloom,  pleasant  to  the  taste,  ripe  in  the  end  of  August 
or  in  September. 

A  more  common  variety  is  the  late  Fox  Grape.  This  has  a 
dark  purple,  almost  black,  berry,  quite  large,  sometimes  nearly 
an  inch  in  diameter,  but  of  an  austere,  disagreeable  taste. 

There  are  many  other  varieties.  From  the  seeds  of  grapes 
of  this  kind  have  been  produced  the  Isabella,  the  Catawba, 
Bland's  Grape,  the  Schuylkill,  the  Elsinburgh,  and  others.  It 
promises  much  from  the  effects  of  cultivation. 


XXX.     1.  THE  SUMMER  GRAPE.  469 

Sp.  2.     The  Summer  Grape.     V.  cestivalis.     Michaux. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  with  the  Pileated  Woodpecker,  II,  Plates  111 

and  114. 

This  vine  has  much  the  habit  of  the  last,  but  may  be  com- 
monly distinguished  by  the  absence  of  down  upon  the  branches 
and  leaf-stalks,  and  by  the  nakedness  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
very  long  trunk,  in  consequence  of  the  dying  of  the  lower 
branches. 

The  recent  shoots  are  smooth,  or  with  very  little  down, 
hardly  dotted.  The  leaves  are  four  to  seven  inches  long,  and 
somewhat  less  in  width,  very  deeply  heart-shaped,  more  in- 
clined to  3-  than  5-angled,  often  deeply  lobed ;  when  young, 
they  are  of  a  reddish  or  purplish  tinge,  shining  above,  with 
tufts  or  cob-webs  of  brown  down  beneath ;  when  old  they  are 
glaucous  beneath,  and  downy  only  on  the  nerves  and  veins, — 
which  are  often  purple  near  the  radiating  point. 

Tendrils  long,  smooth,  once  or  twice  divided.  Racemes  very 
long,  compound,  the  lower  branch  often  becoming  a  tendril. 
Berries  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  dark  blue,  of  an  agreeable 
taste, — ripe  in  October. 

Of  this  grape  there  are  several  varieties,  one  of  which  is  so 
marked  that  Pursh  suspected  it  of  being  a  separate  species.  It  is 
conspicuous  for  its  very  deep,  palmate  lobes,  separated  by  rhom- 
boidal  sinuses.  I  have  not  been  able  to  examine  the  fruit  and 
flowers.  It  is  the  Frost  Grape  or  Winter  Grape,  V.  sinuata  of 
Pursh,  a  vine  with  5 -lobed  leaves,  the  lobes  arranged  almost  in 
a  circle,  the  lower  ones  meeting  or  nearly  meeting  at  base. 
Sinuses  of  the  shape  of  the  hull  of  a  ship,  nearly  closed  in  by 
the  lobes,  and  rounded  or  acute  at  base.  Surface  nearly  smooth 
above,  whitish  or  glaucous,  with  little  tufts  of  ferruginous  down 
thickly  scattered,  together  with  hairs,  on  the  nerves  and  veins 
beneath  ;  margin  serrate  with  large  obtuse  serratures.  Fruit 
in  clusters  long  and  simple,  or  with  2  to  5  branches,  small,  half 
an  inch  in  diameter,  ripened  by  the  first  hard  frosts,  thence 
called  Frost  Grape,  but  always  acerb.  Fruit-stalk  smooth, 
purplish,  fruit  purple.  Trunk  deep  purple,  bark  separating  in 
long  slender  stripes.     This  agrees  in  many  respects  with  the 


470       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Summer  Grape,  but  differs  in  the  form  of  the  leaves  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  time  of  maturing  the  fruit  and  in  its  taste.  I 
am  therefore  inclined  to  think  Pursh's  conjecture,  that  this  is 
a  distinct  species,  correct. 

Sp.  3.     The  Wine  Grape.     Chicken  Grape.      V.  cordifblia. 

Michaux. 

This  vine  is  a  less  vigorous  climber  than  either  of  the  pre- 
ceding, and  has  a  more  delicate  appearance.  It  delights  to 
climb  over  rocks,  along  which  it  extends  twenty  or  thirty  feet. 
It  is  distinguished  for  its  very  short  joints  and  the  green  color  of 
both  surfaces  of  its  leaves.  The  recent  shoots  are  purplish 
green,  smooth  or  slightly  hairy.  Leaves  on  short  petioles, 
which  have  a  few  short  hairs ;  somewhat  3-  or  5-lobed,  heart- 
shaped  at  base,  acuminate,  with  large,  sharp,  deeply  cut  teeth ; 
ciliate  on  the  margin,  green  on  both  surfaces,  hairy  on  the 
nerves,  and  with  cottony  tufts  at  the  angles  beneath. 

Fruit  in  short  clusters,  with  6  to  8,  short,  crowded  branches, 
dark  purple,  almost  black,  when  ripe,  with  a  dark  blue  bloom, 
about  the  size  of  a  large  pea.  Seeds  about  2 ;  no  core ;  skin 
very  thin ;  pulp  deep  purple,  almost  black.  The  fruit  is  very 
acid,  but  pleasant,  with  a  rich,  spicy  taste,  and  without  any 
acerbity  remaining  after  eating  it.  It  ripens  late,  and  is  not 
affected  by  the  frost. 

Of  the  juice  of  this  grape,  Mr.  Andrew  Mallory,  of  Russell, 
has  made  half  a  barrel  of  wine  at  a  time.  It  is  described  as 
of  excellent  quality,  having  a  strong  resemblance  to  Port.  The 
plant  is  a  free  bearer  and  seems  to  promise  much  as  a  wine 
producer. 

Sp.  4.     The  River  Grape.     Sweet  Scented  Grape. 
V.  ripdria.     Michaux. 

I  have  found  this  vine  on  the  Westfield  River  and  on  some 
other  tributaries  of  the  Connecticut,  and  in  Worcester  County, 
but  not  in  the  eastern  parts  of  the  State ;  and  I  have  found  only 
the  barren  flowers.  It  has  the  same  appearance  as  the  preced- 
ing, differing  in  the  greater  pubescence  on  the  stalks,  veins,  and 
margins  of  the  leaves. 


XXX.     2.         THE  VIRGINIAN  CREEPER.  471 

The  flowers  of  all  the  wild  grapes  have  a  pleasant  fragrance, 
not  unlike  that  of  mignonette  :  of  this  species  the  flowers  are 
still  more  fragrant. 

XXX.    2.    THE  CREEPER.     AMPELO'PSIS.     Michaux. 

A  genus  of  a  few  species,  which  are  found  in  Africa,  in  Java, 
but  mostly  in  the  United  States.  Calyx  entire.  Petals  5,  dis- 
tinct, spreading,  reflected.  Ovary  conical,  not  immersed  in  the 
disk,  2-celled,  with  2  ovules  in  each  cell;  style  short.  Berry 
2-celled  ;  the  cells  1-  or  2-seeded. 

The  Virginian  Creeper.     A.  quinquefblia.     Michaux. 

Figured  in  Abbott's  Insects  of  Georgia,  I,  Plate  30. 

This  is  the  most  ornamental  plant  of  its  genus,  and  has  been 
extensively  cultivated  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  It  re- 
commends itself  by  its  hardiness,  the  rapidity  of  its  growth  and 
the  luxuriance  and  beauty  of  its  foliage.  In  its  native  woods  it 
climbs  rocks  and  trees  to  a  great  height.  In  cultivation,  it  is 
often  made  to  cover  walls  of  houses  forty  or  fifty  feet  high, — 
clinging  by  rootlets  which  proceed  from  its  tendrils.  Its  recent 
shoots  are  green  or  purplish  brown,  with  long  orange  dots. 
The  older  stalks  are  covered  with  a  sort  of  net-work  of  cuticle, 
the  meshes  of  a  uniform  size,  except  that  they  enlarge  at  the 
axils  of  the  branches.  Leaves  on  very  long,  channelled,  purple 
or  crimson  leaf-stalks  ;  of  5  leaflets  palmately  arranged.  Leaf- 
lets irregular,  obovate,  wedge-shaped  below,  acuminate,  with  a 
few  mucronate  teeth  above  and  sometimes  a  little  below  the 
middle,  smooth,  nearly  of  the  same  deep  green  on  both  surfaces, 
turning  purple,  deep  red,  or  crimson,  early  in  autumn.  Tendrils 
opposite  the  leaves  or  branches.  As  in  the  vine,  the  stem  seems 
to  be  formed  by  the  successive  development  of  axillary  buds. 
Stem  often  strangulated  or  nearly  cut  off  by  a  tendril.  This 
plant  continues  to  flower  and  attract  the  humble  bee  and  the 
honey  bee  through  July  and  August.  The  flowers  are  of  a 
reddish  green.  The  calyx  is  an  even  or  slightly  waved  border, 
encircling  the  base.  The  petals,  which  are  perhaps  true  sepals, 
are  completely  refiexed  and  slipper-shaped,  reddish,  with  a  yel- 


472        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

lowish  green  border.  Stamens  5,  erect,  opposite  the  petals, 
inserted  at  the  base  of  the  ovary,  which  is  reddish  and  conical, 
surmounted  by  a  roundish  stigma  without  a  style.  Fruit  in 
terminal  or  axillary  panicles,  or  opposite  the  leaves.  The 
stalks  successively  dividing  by  threes,  at  equal  angles.  The 
berries  become  dark  blue  or  nearly  black,  when  mature ;  at 
the  same  period,  the  fruit-stalks  and  tendrils  assume  a  rich 
crimson  or  red  color. 

The  great  variety  of  rich  colors, — shades  of  scarlet,  crimson, 
and  purple, — which  the  leaves  and  stems  of  this  plant  assume, 
and  the  situations  in  which  we  see  it,  climbing  up  the  trunks  and 
spreading  along  the  branches  of  trees,  covering  walls  and  heaps 
of  stones,  forming  natural  festoons  from  tree  to  tree,  or  trained 
on  the  sides  and  along  the  piazzas  of  dwelling  houses,  make  it 
one  of  the  most  conspicuous  ornaments  of  the  autumnal  months. 
Often,  in  October,  it  may  be  seen  mingling  its  scarlet  and  orange 
leaves,  thirty  or  forty  feet  from  the  ground,  with  the  green 
leaves  of  the  still  unchanged  tree  on  which  it  has  climbed. 


FAMILY  XXXI.     THE  BUCKTHORN  FAMILY.     RHAMNAyCE&. 

JUSSIEU. 

Found  every  where  except  in  the  polar  regions,  but  chiefly 
in  the  hotter  parts  of  the  United  States,  Europe  and  Asia,  and 
the  northern  parts  of  Africa. 

The  inner  bark  and  fruit  of  the  Buckthorns,  as  well  as  of 
most  plants  in  this  family,  have  active  cathartic  powers,  and 
some  of  them  are  also  emetic  and  astringent.  The  young  shoots 
and  leaves  of  one  species,  R.  alaternns,  dye  wool  of  a  yellow 
color.  The  bark  and  berries  of  another,  R.  linclbrius,  are  val- 
ued as  dyes.  The  Avignon  berry,  the  fruit  of  R.  infectbritis,  is 
used  to  give  its  yellow  color  to  Morocco  leather.  A  similar  dye 
is  obtained  from  several  other  species,  natives  of  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean.  With  preparations  of  iron,  some  of  them 
give  a  good  black.  The  aromatic  leaves  of  a  species  of  Sage- 
retia,  &  /hecB^zanst,  are  used  by  the  poor  in  China  as  a  substitute 


XXXI.     1.       THE  COMMON  BUCKTHORN.  473 

for  tea.  The  lotus  of  the  ancients,  eating  which, — as  was 
fabled  by  Homer, — men  forgot  home  and  friends, — was  the 
fruit  of  Zizyphus  loins,  and  gave  a  name  to  the  nation  that 
subsisted  on  it.  The  delicate  jujube  paste  is  prepared  from 
the  fruit  of  another  species  of  the  same  plant,  common  in  the 
markets  of  Constantinople.  Christ'' s  Thorn,  a  plant  common 
in  sterile  places  in  Palestine,  has  its  name  from  a  tradition 
that  it  furnished  the  crown  of  thorns  for  the  brow  of  the 
Saviour. 

There  are  two  genera  in  Massachusetts  : 

1.  Rhamnus,  with  flowers  in  small,  axillary  bunches  ;  and 

2.  Ceanbthus,  with  flowers  in  large,  showy,  terminal  bunches. 

XXXI.     1.     THE  BUCKTHORN.     RHAMNUS.     L. 

This  is  a  genus  of  thirty  or  more  species  of  shrubs  or  small 
trees  with  alternate  or  rarely  opposite  leaves,  on  short  petioles ; 
and  minute  flowers  usually  growing  in  short,  axillary  clusters. 
The  calyx  is  4-  or  5-cleft,  with  its  tube  lined  with  a  thin  disk ; 
the  petals  4  or  5,  emarginate  or  2-lobed  ;  ovary  2-  to  4-celled,  not 
immersed  in  the  disk ;  styles  2  to  4.  The  fruit  is  drupe-like, 
and  contains  2  to  4  cartilaginous  nuts. 

Sp.  1.     The  Common  Buckthorn.     R.  catharticus.     L. 

The  buckthorn  is  often  found  growing  wild  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Boston,  and  rarely  in  other  parts  of  Massachusetts,  but 
it  was  probably  introduced  from  Europe,  where  it  is  a  native. 
It  is  an  upright,  branching  bush  or  low  tree,  growing  to  the 
height  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  with  a  smooth  stem  of  reddish 
brown  or  grayish  olive,  and  grayish  limbs.  The  lower  branches 
are  short  and  stiff,  nearly  horizontal,  and  end  in  a  rigid,  sharp 
point.  They  thus  act  as  thorns,  though  leafy.  The  leaves  are 
nearly  opposite,  broad-oval  or  ovate,  irregularly  toothed  or 
notched  or  waving  on  the  border,  of  a  soft  texture,  smooth 
above,  somewhat  hairy  on  the  prominent  veins  beneath. 

The  flowers  have  3  or  4  stamens.  The  berries  turn  to  a 
shining  black  in  autumn.  They  are  found  in  clusters,  on  short 
61 


474       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

stalks  coming  from  the  axil  of  the  lower  leaves,  or  beneath 
them.  They  are  large  and  globose,  and  contain  4  prismatic, 
cartilaginous  seeds  or  nuts. 

The  fruit  of  the  buckthorn  was  formerly  employed  in  medicine 
as  a  purgative,  but  is  too  violent  and  drastic  to  be  safely  used, 
and  is  now  chiefly  confined  to  veterinary  practice,  to  which  it 
is  well  adapted.  The  saffron-colored  juice  of  the  unripe  berries, 
called  French  berries  by  dyers,  is  used  as  a  paint  and  a  dye. 
Sap  green  is  made  of  the  inspissated  juice  of  the  ripe  berries, 
with  alum  and  gum  Arabic.  If  gathered  very  late  they  yield  a 
purple  instead  of  a  green  color.  The  bark  furnishes  a  beautiful 
yellow  dye ;  or,  dryed,  it  colors  brown.  The  wood  of  the  roots 
is  yellowish-brown,  with  a  satiny  lustre,  and  very  compact,  and 
may  be  employed  by  the  turner.  Sheep  and  goats  are  fond  of 
the  leaves,  but  cattle  refuse  them. 

The  buckthorn  is  well  suited  to  form  hedges,  either  by  itself 
or  still  better  in  conjunction  with  the  thorn.  It  bears  pruning, 
grows  rapidly,  is  tough,  and  not  liable  to  the  attacks  of  in- 
sects, and  is  hardy,  and  not  difficult  as  to  soil.  It  puts  forth  its 
leaves  early  in  the  spring  and  retains  them  late  in  the  fall ;  and 
its  bunches  of  rich  black  berries  are  very  showy  in  the  autumn. 
It  may  be  propagated  by  seed,  which  comes  up  the  first  season, 
or  by  suckers  or  layers. 

The  seed  should  be  sown  in  the  fall,  when  fresh  from  the 
tree.  It  vegetates  early  next  spring.  The  plants  may  remain 
in  the  seed-bed  a  year,  and  then  be  transferred  to  the  nursery 
until  they  are  eighteen  inches  or  two  feet  high,  when  they  may 
be  planted  in  a  single  or  double  row,  eight  or  nine  inches  apart, 
for  a  hedge.  As  soon  as  they  begin  to  vegetate,  they  should  be 
headed  down  to  within  six  inches  of  the  ground.  This  causes 
them  to  thicken  at  the  bottom; — an  important  point,  whether 
utility  or  beauty  is  considered. 

Sp.  2.  The  Alder-Leaved  Buckthorn.  R.  alnifolius.   L'Heritier. 

A  stout,  very  leafy  bush,  three  or  four  feet  high,  growing  in 
clumps,  in  moist  lands,  with  a  dark  colored  stem  and  grayish 
branches.     The  leaves  are  broad-oval,  two  or  three  inches  long, 


XXXI.     2.  THE  NEW  JERSEY  TEA.  475 

acute  or  rounded  at  base,  obtusely  serrate,  acuminate,  smooth 
on  both  surfaces,  with  a  slight  down  on  the  mid-rib  and  veins 
above,  the  veins  very  prominent  beneath.  The  flowers  are  on 
short  stems  in  the  axils  of  the  lower  leaves  of  the  recent  shoots. 
The  tube  of  the  calyx  is  cup-shaped  with  the  segments  spread- 
ing. The  fruit  is  black,  fleshy,  somewhat  pear-shaped.  Flow- 
ers in  May  and  June. 

XXXI.     2.      THE   JERSEY   TEA.     CEANO^THUS.     L. 

Shrubs,  or  somewhat  shrubby  plants,  not  thorny.  Roots 
large,  reddish,  astringent.  Leaves  alternate,  commonly  ovate, 
or  elliptical,  serrate  or  entire.  Flowers  white,  blue  or  yellow- 
ish, in  umbel-like  fascicles,  which  are  aggregated  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  branches.  Calyx  bell-shaped,  5-cleft;  the  upper 
portion  at  length  separating  by  a  transverse  line  ;  the  tube  ad- 
hering to  the  base  of  the  ovary.  Petals  5,  longer  than  the 
calyx,  saccate  and  arched,  on  long  claws.  Stamens  projecting. 
Disk  fleshy  at  the  margin,  surrounding  the  ovary.  Styles  3, 
sometimes  2,  united  to  the  middle,  diverging  above.  Fruit  dry 
and  coriaceous,  mostly  3-celled,  obtusely  triangular,  girt  below 
by  the  persistent  tube  of  the  calyx,  3-seeded,  the  cells  at  length 
opening.     Seeds  obovate. 

The  New  Jersey  Tea.     C.  Americdmis.     L. 

A  low,  bushy  shrub,  one  to  three  feet  high,  flowering  in  June 
and  July,  growing  on  dry,  sunny  slopes.  The  stem  is  of  a 
polished  olive  green  below,  striated  with  brown.  Recent  shoots 
of  a  lively  green,  turning  brown,  on  drying,  smooth,  or  some- 
times downy.  The  leaves  are  2  to  2\  inches  long,  and  1  to  1£ 
wide,  conspicuously  3-ribbed,  on  short  footstalks,  oblong-ovate, 
tapering  gradually  to  a  point,  serrate,  with  the  serratures  end- 
ing in  a  brown,  glandular  point,  smooth  above,  paler  and  some- 
what downy  beneath,  the  down  on  the  footstalk  and  veins  often 
rust-colored. 

The  minute  white  flowers  are  in  crowded  clusters,  on  the 
sides,  short  branches  and  end  of  long  downy  footstalks,  which 
proceed  from  the  axil   of   the  upper  leaves,   and  have  one  or 


476  WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

two  small  leaves  on  them.  Each  flower  stands  on  a  white, 
thread-like  stalk.  The  calyx  ends  in  5  rounded  segments,  bent 
inwards.  The  petals  are  oblique,  covered  cups,  on  a  thread- 
like claw,  alternating  with  the  segments  of  the  calyx. 

The  fruit  is  a  dry,  3-sided  berry,  with  very  obtuse  angles, 
lying  in  the  enlarged  lower  portion  of  the  calyx,  and  opening 
from  the  centre.  Seeds  3,  inversely  egg-shaped,  shining  and 
smooth,  slightly  flattened  on  one  side. 

The  leaves  have  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  tea.  The  bark 
of  the  roots,  which  is  of  a  deep  red  color,  has  astringent  quali- 
ties, and  has  been  successfully  used,  in  infusion,  tincture,  or 
powder,  to  produce  the  effect  of  astringent  medicines.  In  Can- 
ada, it  is  used  to  dye  wool  of  a  Nankin  or  cinnamon  color. 


FAMILY  XXXII.     THE   STAFF-TREE   FAMILY.     CELAS- 
TRA^CEM.     R.  Brown. 

This  is  a  small  family,  comprising  low  trees  or  shrubs,  some- 
times climbers,  with  alternate  or  opposite  leaves,  and  flowers 
which  are  usually  perfect,  but  sometimes  sterile  and  fertile 
on  different  plants,  arranged  in  racemes  or  cymes.  They  are 
natives  of  the  warmer  parts  of  both  continents,  chiefly  without 
the  tropics,  abounding  especially  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Several  species  of  the  Spindle  Tree,  Euonymus,  are  valued  in 
ornamental  gardening,  as  are  the  Bladder-nut  and  Wax-work 
of  our  own  woods.  The  properties  of  the  family  are  not  well 
known.  The  fruits  and  seeds  of  some  species  produce  purgative 
and  emetic  effects;  and  others  are  used  for  dyeing  red,  yellow 
and  green.  They  are  distinguished  by  having  4  or  5,  usually 
persistent  sepals,  united  at  base ;  4  or  5  petals,  alternate  with 
the  sepals,  and  inserted  by  a  broad  base  under  the  edge  of 
a  fleshy  disk  which  covers  the  bottom  of  the  calyx  ;  4  or  5 
stamens,  alternate  with  the  petals,  inserted  on  the  edge  of  the 
disk;  a  free  ovary,  immersed  in  the  disk  with  1  to  5,  1-  or 
many-ovuled  cells,  and  as  many  cohering  styles  and  stigmas. 


XXXII.    1.     THREE-LEAVED  BLADDER-NUT.  477 

The  fruit  is  1-  to  5-celled,  membranous,  drupaceous,  capsular 
or  fleshy,  with  ascending  seeds. 

Two  genera  are  found  in  Massachusetts  : 

1.  Staphylea,  with  ternate  leaves,  and 

2.  Celdstrus,  with  alternate,  simple  leaves. 

XXXII.    1.    THE  BLADDER-NUT.    STAPHYLE^A.    L. 

A  genus  of  a  few  species  of  American  and  European  shrubs. 
Flowers  perfect.  Sepals  5,  oblong,  erect,  colored,  persistent. 
Petals  5.  Stamens  5.  Ovary  of  3  carpels  united  at  the  axis. 
Styles  separate  or  separable.  Fruit  a  membranaceous  and  in- 
flated, 2-  to  3-celled,  2-  to  3-lobed  capsule.  Seeds  globose, 
ascending,  few,  or,  by  abortion,  solitary,  in  each  cell ;  albumen 
little  or  none.  Leaves  3-  to  7-foliolate.  Flowers  white ;  the 
racemes  sometimes  panicled. 

The  Three-Leaved  Bladder-Nut.     &  irifolia.     L. 

An  irregular,  handsome,  tall  shrub  or  small  tree,  with  spread- 
ing branches,  growing  on  the  borders  of  damp  woods.  It  rises 
to  the  height  of  eight  to  fifteen  feet,  and  is  of  rapid  growth,  the 
shoots  and  offsets  often  making  five  feet  or  more  in  a  season. 
The  shoots  are  of  a  light  green,  thickly  dotted  towards  the  base 
with  white  dots,  which  enlarge  in  the  succeeding  years,  and 
give  the  purplish  brown  branch  a  beautifully  striated  appear- 
ance. The  trunk  is  of  a  light  gray  color,  with  linear,  white 
cracks.  The  leaves  are  opposite,  on  long,  channelled,  or  angu- 
late  footstalks,  somewhat  hairy  towards  the  end  ;  leaflets  3, 
broad-oval  or  ovate,  rather  acute  at  base,  acuminate,  finely  ser- 
rate, light  green  and  smooth  above,  lighter  and  somewhat  hairy 
beneath.  The  flowers  are  in  terminal  or  axillary,  pendulous 
racemes,  with  opposite  fascicles  of  flowers,  and  linear  bracts  at 
the  base  of  the  partial  footstalks.  Calyx  a  circle  of  5  oblong 
sepals,  often  tinged  with  pale  rose  color,  embracing  a  circle  of  5 
obovate,  reflected  petals,  alternate  with  the  sepals,  contracted 
towards  the  base  and  folding  so  as  to  form  an  imperfect  tube, 
ciliate  below.  Five  slender,  thread-like  filaments,  opposite  the 
sepals,  with   yellow  anthers,  show  themselves   above  the  co- 


478       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

rolla,  and  open  lengthwise  towards  the  stigma,  which  is  sim- 
ple and  supported  by  3  cohering  styles  as  long  as  the  stamens. 
Fruit  an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  long,  made  up  of  3  mem- 
branous capsules  or  pods,  grown  together,  each  ending  in  an 
awl-like  point,  which  is  the  style.  The  pods  are  not  unlike 
pea-pods  in  texture,  and  strongly  resemble  them  in  smell.  The 
seeds  are  usually  abortive,  except,  in  one  of  the  pods,  a  single 
one,  which  is  brown,  ovoid,  and  flattened  at  one  end. 

The  seeds  of  the  European  species,  which  is  very  analogous 
to  ours,  differing  from  it  in  having  5  to  7  leaflets,  are  strung  as 
beads  by  Roman  Catholics  in  some  countries.  The  wood  is 
yellowish- white  and  close-grained. 

XXXII.    2.     THE   STAFF    TREE.     CELA'STRUS.     L. 

A  genus  of  nearly  seventy  species  of  unarmed,  climbing 
shrubs,  found  in  America,  Asia,  and  tropical  Africa.  Flowers 
small,  pale  yellowish-green,  in  axillary  or  terminal,  bracteated 
racemes.  Leaves  alternate,  of  thin  texture,  with  very  minute 
stipules. 

Fertile  and  sterile  flowers  sometimes  on  separate  plants. 
Calyx  5-lobed,  forming  a  short  tube.  Petals  5.  Stamens  5. 
Ovary  3-celled,  sessile  on  the  fleshy  disk.  Styles  short,  united, 
with  a  3-lobed  stigma.  Capsule  imperfectly  2-  or  3-celled. 
Seeds  1  or  2  in  each  cell,  enclosed  in  a  pulpy  aril.  Embryo  in 
the  thin  albumen,  nearly  as  long  as  the  seeds.  Cotyledons 
broad  and  leaf-like. 

The  Climbing  Staff  Tree.    Wax-Work.      C.  scandens.     L. 

This  is  a  beautiful,  twining  shrub,  climbing  over  rocks,  bushes 
and  trees,  often  to  the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  and  de- 
lighting in  moist  and  shady  situations.  The  stem  is  very  slen- 
der, rarely  more  than  an  inch  thick,  preserving  its  size  but 
enlarging  at  the  angle  of  the  branches  and  just  below.  It  is  of 
an  olive  green,  or  alder  color,  ash  or  clay-colored  above,  con- 
spicuously dotted  with  numerous,  oval,  brown  dots,  and  termi- 
nating in  long  and  slender  green  shoots,  with  small  leaves. 

The  leaves  vary  from  egg-shaped  to  elliptic  and  inverse  egg- 
shaped,  acute  or  somewhat  decurrent  or  rounded  at  base,  with 


THE  HORSE-CHESTNUT.  479 

a  short,  rather  abrupt  acumination,  deeply  serrate,  often  reflexed 
at  the  margin,  green  above,  lighter  below.  They  are  from  two 
to  five  inches  long  and  one  third  less  in  breadth.  Petiole  rather 
short,  margined  above.  The  calyx  is  somewhat  bell-shaped, 
with  5  yellowish-green  segments  ;  the  corolla  5  greenish-yellow 
petals,  expanding,  somewhat  fringed  on  the  edge.  The  flowers 
are  in  terminal  panicles,  with  small  leaves  at  the  base  of  the 
lower  branches.  The  fruit  is  of  an  irregular  globular  shape, 
supported  by  the  5,  rounded,  thin  segments  of  the  persistent 
calyx,  and  surmounted  by  a  short,  capitate  stigma,  and  con- 
taining an  orange-colored  pulp,  and  2  to  6  seeds  surrounded  by 
a  pulpy  aril.  When  mature,  the  3  orange-colored  valves  open 
and  disclose  this  as  a  scarlet  berry.  The  leaves  turn  early  to  a 
yellow.  Climbing  upon  a  chestnut,  early  in  autumn,  its  orange- 
scarlet  clusters  of  shining  berries,  and  its  yellow  leaves,  contrast 
finely  with  the  bright  deep  green  trunk  and  leaves  of  the  tree. 
It  forms  a  beautiful  covering  for  walls  or  trellis  work,  and 
should  be  cultivated  for  its  picturesque  effect.  It  may  be  prop- 
agated by  seeds  or  by  layers. 


THE  HORSE-CHESTNUT. 


To  this  place  belongs  the  Horse-Chestntjt  Teee  Family, 
Hippocastandcece,  D  C,  of  which  a  detailed  account  is  not  given 
here,  as  no  plants  belonging  to  it  are  indigenous  to  Massachu- 
setts. It  is  a  small  family,  consisting  of  one  species,  the  culti- 
vated Horse-Chestnut,  which  is  a  native  of  northern  and  cen- 
tral India,  and  five  or  six  others,  (twenty,  according  to  Spach, 
Hist.  Nat.,  Vol.  Ill,  16.)  which  are  natives  of  the  temperate 
regions  of  this  country.  They  are  magnificent  trees  or  beauti- 
ful shrubs,  distinguished  for  their  showy,  pyramidal  flowers 
and  chestnut-like  fruit;  and  extremely  easy  of  cultivation. 
The  cultivated  tree,  JE'scnlus  hippocdsianum,  was  introduced 
into  the  gardens  of  France  in  1615  from  Constantinople.  It  is 
sometimes  a  tree  of  eighty  feet  in  height  and  three  or  four  in 
diameter.     The  wood  is  of  little  value ;  the  bark  abounds  in 


480        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tannin,  has  astringent  and  febrifugal  properties,  and  may  be 
used  to  dye  yellow ;  and  the  fruit  is  saponaceous,  and  is  eaten 
by  sheep  and  deer,  and,  when  boiled,  is  used  to  fatten  cattle 
and  fowls.  In  Turkey  and  Germany,  it  is  employed  in  veteri- 
nary medicine,  whence  the  name  horse-chestnut  and  the  specific 
name  hippocdstanum  given  it  by  Tournefort.  Of  the  Amer- 
ican species,  one,  the  Ohio  Buckeye,  JE.  glabra,  resembles  the 
cultivated  in  its  prickly  fruit.  It  is  a  small  tree  with  a  rough 
bark  which  exhales  a  disagreeable  odor.  Of  the  others,  which 
are  distinguished  by  the  smoothness  of  their  fruits,  the  Sweet 
Buckeye  of  the  Western  and  Southern  States,  &.  Jlava,  with 
yellow  flowers,  is  found  from  four  to  eighty  feet  high  and  with 
a  trunk  sometimes  four  feet  in  diameter.  The  others,  2E.  par- 
viflora,  Californica,  pdvia,  and  their  varieties,  are  shrubs  or 
small  trees. 


FAMILY  XXXIII.    THE  MAPLE  FAMILY.   ACERA'CEM.   Jussieu. 

This  family,  which  contains  two  or  three  genera  besides  the 
maple,  consists  of  trees  or  tall  shrubs,  with  opposite  leaves 
without  stipules.  The  flowers,  springing  from  the  axil  of  the 
leaves  or  buds,  are  either  perfect,  or  contain  pistils  or  stamens 
only.  On  the  tall  trees,  they  are  usually  in  corymbs ;  on  the 
smaller  plants,  as  on  the  Moose  wood,  they  hang  in  a  beautiful 
raceme,  like  a  bunch  of  currants. 

Early  in  the  season,  from  a  bud  in  which  they  overlie  each 
other  like  tiles,  usually  5,  sometimes  4  to  9,  sepals  expand, 
within  which  and  alternate  to  them  are  the  same  number  of 
petals,  and  usually  8  distinct  stamens.  In  the  centre  is  a  2- 
lobed  ovary,  with  1  style  and  2  stigmas.  The  fruit,  called 
a  samara,  consists  of  two  parts,  united,  with  broad,  nerved 
wings,  each  part  containing  1  cell  and  1  or  2  seeds.  These  are 
erect,  without  albumen,  containing  a  curved  embryo,  with 
wrinkled,  leaf-like  cotyledons,  and  an  inferior  radicle. 

In  no  part  of  the  world  are  the  maples  of  greater  importance 
than  in  New  England.     The  excellence  of  the  wood  as  fuel, 


XXXIII.  THE  MAPLE.  481 

the  various  uses  in  the  arts  to  which,  from  its  softness  in  some 
species,  its  hardness  in  others,  and  its  great  beauty  in  all,  it  may- 
be put,  the  resource  it  furnishes  in  the  sugar  extracted  from  its 
sap,  and  the  value  of  several  of  the  species  as  ornamental  trees, 
give  it  a  place  hardly  second  to  any  of  the  trees  which  cast 
their  leaves,  at  least  for  the  northern  part  of  the  country. 

THE  MAPLE.     ACER.     L. 

The  genus  A~cer  is  distinguished  by  having  its  flowers  poly- 
gamous, that  is,  male,  female  and  perfect  flowers  on  the  same 
or  different  individuals ;  petals  colored  like  the  sepals,  but  often 
wanting ;  stamens  7  to  10,  rarely  5 ;  and  simple  leaves. 

Nearly  forty  species  of  maple  are  known,  of  which  ten  belong 
to  the  United  States.    No  climate  is  better  suited  to  their  growth 
than  that  of  New  England,  as  is  shown  by  the  perfection  to 
which  several  of  the  most  valuable  species  attain  here.     There 
are  several  other  species  deserving  to  be  introduced  for  their 
economical  value  and  their  beauty.     Among  these,  the  most 
conspicuous  perhaps  is  the  Large-leaved  Maple,  A.  macrophy'l- 
lum,  of  Pursh,  introduced  into  England  by  Mr.  Douglas  from  the 
northwest  coast  of  North  America,  and  described  by  him  as  a 
tree  of  the  largest  size,  sometimes  ninety  feet  high  and  sixteen 
in  circumference,   and   yielding  a  wood    soft   but   beautifully 
veined.     It  would  doubtless  flourish  on  this  side  of  the  continent, 
as   would   the   Round-leaved   Maple,    A.  circinndtum,  of  the 
Columbia  River.     Others   are  the   Sycamore   or  Great  Maple 
of  Europe,  A.  pseudo-platanus,  and  the  Norway  Maple,  A.  pla- 
tanbides,  both  of  which  grow  as  readily  here  as  our  own  trees, 
and  the  former  of  which,  remarkable  for  its  rapid  growth,  some- 
times attains  to  a  height  of  one   hundred   feet.     The   Field 
Maple,   A.  campestre,   the  common  maple  of  the  continent   of 
Europe,  the  Montpelier  Maple,  which  abounds  in  the  south  of 
France  and  in  Italy  and  Spain  ;  the  Guelder-rose-leaved  Maple, 
A.  opulifdlium,  of  the  mountains  of  southern  France,  the  Italian 
Maple,  A.  opalus,  of  Corsica ;  the  Tartarian  Maple,  of  Russia, 
and  the  Smooth-leaved  Maple  of  Nepaul,  A.  Icevigdium,  are  all 
trees  which  attain  more  than  a  medium  size,  are  sufficiently 
62 


482        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

hardy  to  flourish  here,  and  have  sufficient  claims  as  ornamental 
trees  to  invite  the  attempt  to  cultivate  them. 

Dr.  Harris  describes  two  kinds  of  insects  whose  attacks  are 
very  pernicious  to  the  maples.  The  first  is  the  beautiful  Clytiis, 
(Report,  p.  S4-5,)  a  beetle  about  an  inch  in  length,  of  a  black 
ground  color,  ornamented  with  bands  and  spots  of  yellow.  It 
lays  its  eggs  on  the  trunk  of  the  Sugar  Maple  in  July  and  Au- 
gust. The  grubs  burrow  in  the  bark  as  soon  as  hatched,  and 
are  there  protected  during  the  winter.  "  In  the  spring,  they 
penetrate  deeper,  and  form,  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  long 
and  winding  galleries  in  the  wood,  up  and  down  the  trunk.  In 
order  to  check  their  devastations,  they  should  be  sought  for  in 
the  spring,  when  they  will  readily  be  detected  by  the  saw-dust 
that  they  cast  out  of  their  burrows ;  and,  by  a  judicious  use  of 
a  knife  and  stiff  wire,  they  may  be  cut  out  or  destroyed  before 
they  have  gone  deeply  into  the  wood." 

The  other,  less  injurious,  is  the  caterpillar  of  the  ApatUa 
Americana,  (Report,  p.  317,)  one  of  the  owlet  moths.  It  feeds 
on  the  leaves  of  the  several  kinds  of  maple,  as  well  as  on  those 
of  the  elm  and  chestnut. 

The  maples  may  be  propagated  by  seeds,  and  in  some  in- 
stances by  layers,  by  cuttings  of  the  roots,  and  by  grafting. 
Most  of  those  of  our  own  country  have  been  successfully  en- 
grafted upon  the  sycamore  of  Europe.  The  seeds  of  most  spe- 
cies ripen  early;  those  of  the  Red  Maple  and  the  White,  early 
in  summer,  of  the  others,  not  later  than  October.  They  may  be 
gathered  when  the  keys  begin  to  turn  brown  ;  and  sown  in 
autumn,  soon  after  gathering,  or  in  the  succeeding  spring.  The 
latter  is  preferable  where  moles  or  mice  abound.  The  seeds 
should  be  covered  with  not  more  than  a  quarter  or  half  an  inch 
of  soil,  but  the  surface  should  be  protected  by  leaves,  straw,  or 
some  other  light  substance.  They  will  come  up  in  five  or  six 
weeks.  For  keeping  through  the  winter,  the  seeds  should  be 
mixed  with  sand  or  earth  and  kept  moderately  dry.  If  kept 
perfectly  dry  and  without  earth,  they  are  apt  to  lose  their  power 
of  vegetation.  The  young  plants  are  ready  to  be  transplanted 
at  a  year's  growth,  and  do  better  if  moved  then  than  afterwards. 


XXXIII.  THE  RED  MAPLE.  483 

Whenever  transplanted,  they  should  not  have  their  heads  or 
branches  lopped,  as  they  recover  very  slowly  from  such  wounds. 
Within  Massachusetts,  there  are  found  five  species  of  Maple, 
three  of  them  timber  trees ;  1,  the  Red  Maple  ;  2,  the  White  or 
River  Maple,  the  flowers  of  both  of  which  appear  before  the 
leaves ;  3,  the  Rock  Maple  or  Sugar  Maple,  whose  flowers  ap- 
pear with  the  leaves;  and  two  tall  shrubs  or  small  trees ;  4,  the 
Striped  Maple,  with  flowers  in  pendulous,  and  5,  the  Mountain 
Maple,  with  flowers  in  upright  racemes,  appearing  after  the 
evolution  of  the  leaves. 

Sp.  1.     The  Red  Maple.     Acer  rubrum:     L. 

Figured,  the  leaves,  in  Abbott's  Insects,  II,  Plate  93  :  in  Audubon's  Birds, 
fruit,  Vol.  I,  Plate  54,  flowers,  I,  67. 

The  Red  Maple,  called  also  the  White,  the  Swamp,  the  Scar- 
let, and  the  Soft  Maple,  is  a  tree  of  middling  size,  growing 
abundantly  in  the  swamps  and  low  grounds,  in  most  parts  of 
the  State.  Its  flowers,  which  appear  in  April  or  May,  before 
the  leaves,  are  of  a  bright  crimson  or  scarlet,  and  make  a  strik- 
ing appearance  in  whorls  or  pairs,  of  sessile,  crowded  bunches, 
on  the  scarlet  or  purple  branches.  The  flowers  are  of  two  or 
three  kinds,  found  on  different  trees.  They  issue  from  opposite, 
somewhat  quadrangular  scale-buds,  each  bud  consisting  of  sev- 
eral scales,  of  which  the  inner  ones  are  more  delicate,  and  con- 
taining about  5  flowers.  The  barren  flowers  are  made  of  a  cup 
of  8  to  10  or  12  divisions,  the  outer  ones,  the  sepals,  broader, 
the  alternate,  inner  ones,  the  petals,  narrower,  more  delicate, 
and  often  bending  inwards.  The  stamens  are  4  to  5  or  6,  twice 
as  long  as  the  sepals,  to  which  they  are  opposite,  and  proceed- 
ing, with  them,  from  the  outer  edge  of  a  fleshy,  glandular  disk. 
In  the  perfect,  fertile  flowers,  the  calyx  and  corolla  rise  from 
one  cup,  the  sepals  broader,  external,  the  petals  narrower,  alter- 
nate, internal,  sometimes  fringed.  The  stamens  5,  opposite  the 
sepals,  short,  proceeding  from  the  outer  edge  of  a  fleshy  disk. 
The  styles  are  2,  long,  diverging,  curved,  the  upper  edge  a 
downy  stigma.  The  germs  are  2,  changing  into  the  united 
samarsc  or  keys,  with  wings  resembling  those  of  an  insect. 

The  recent  shoots  are  of  a  reddish  or  crimson  color,  dotted 


484        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

with  brown,  and  changing  gradually  into  the  beautiful  clear 
ashy  gray  of  the  trunk.  In  old  trees,  the  bark  cracks  and  may 
be  easily  peeled  off  in  long,  slender  flakes.  The  gray,  uniform 
color  of  the  bark  is  often  varied  with  patches  of  white  lichens, 
and  not  uncommonly  covered  entirely  with  those  of  various 
shades  of  gray  or  white,  finely  dotted  with  their  black  or  brown 
fructification.  The  leaves,  which  are  plaited  in  the  bud,  where 
they  are  protected  by  4  pairs  of  leaf-buds,  are  on  long,  round 
petioles,  which  are  usually  reddish,  and  toward  autumn  of  a 
bright  scarlet.  They  are  commonly  of  3  or  5  lobes,  the  notches 
between  the  lobes  always  sharp.  They  are  usually  heart- 
shaped,  but  sometimes  straight  or  rounded  at  base.  They  vary 
exceedingly  in  size  and  shape,  being  sometimes  very  broad, 
with  5  palmately  divergent  lobes,  sometimes  long  and  narrow, 
the  lower  lobes  reduced  to  mere  serratures,  and  the  middle  ones 
prolonged  and  nearly  parallel  to  the  terminal  one  ;  the  mar- 
gin slightly  and  irregularly  toothed,  or  deeply  cut  into  long, 
slender  serratures.  The  surface  is  liable  to  be  variegated  with 
lines  of  scarlet  or  to  become  entirely  scarlet,  or  crimson,  or 
orange,  at  every  season  of  the  year.  This  occasionally  happens 
to  all  the  leaves  on  a  tree,  even  in  the  middle  of  summer,  form- 
ing a  gorgeous  contrast  with  the  green  of  the  rest  of  the  forest. 
The  differences  in  the  leaves  are  accompanied  by  corresponding 
differences  in  the  branches  and  general  appearance  of  the  tree ; 
and  the  common  opinion  is,  that  there  are  several  distinct  vari- 
eties of  this  tree.  The  leaves  begin  to  change  their  color  in  Au- 
gust, and  are  usually  gone  by  the  first  of  November. 

The  observation,  for  a  single  year,  of  the  varying  colors  of 
the  Red  Maple,  would  be  sufficient  to  disprove  the  common 
theory  that  the  colors  of  the  leaves  in  autumn  are  dependent 
on  the  frosts.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  single  tree 
in  a  forest  of  maples  turning  to  a  crimson  or  scarlet,  in  July  or 
August,  while  all  the  other  trees  remain  green.  A  single  bril- 
liantly colored  branch  shows  itself  on  a  verdant  tree  ;  or  a  few 
scattered  leaves  exhibit  the  tints  of  October,  while  all  the  rest 
of  the  tree  and  wood  have  the  soft  greens  of  June.  The  sting 
of  an  insect,  the  gnawing  of  a  worm  at  the  pith,  or  the  presence 
of  minute,  parasitic  plants,  often  gives  the  premature  colors  of 


XXXIII.  THE  RED  MAPLE.  485 

autumn  to  one  or  a  few  leaves.  The  frost  has  very  little  to  do 
with  the  autumn  colors.  Some  trees  are  not  perceptibly  affected 
by  it.  The  sober  browns  and  dark  reds,  those  of  the  elms  and 
several  of  the  oaks,  may  be  the  gradual  effects  of  continued  cold. 
The  brighter  colors  seem  to  depend  upon  other  causes.  An 
unusually  moist  summer,  which  keeps  the  cuticle  of  the  forest 
leaves  thin,  delicate,  and  translucent,  is  followed  by  an  autumn 
of  resplendent  colors.  A  dry  summer,  by  rendering  the  cuticle 
hard  and  thick,  makes  it  opaque,  and  although  the  same  bright 
colors  may  be  formed  within  the  substance  of  the  leaf,  they  are 
not  exhibited  to  the  eye  ;  the  fall  woods  are  tame  ;  and  the  ex- 
pectation of  the  rich  variety  of  gaudy  colors  is  disappointed. 

The  question  why  our  forests  are  so  much  more  brilliant,  in 
their  autumnal  livery,  than  those  of  corresponding  climates  and 
natural  families  in  Europe,  cannot,  perhaps,  be  fully  answered. 
It  depends,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  on  the  greater  transparency 
of  our  atmosphere,  and  the  consequently  greater  intensity  of  the 
light ;  on  the  same  cause  which  renders  a  much  larger  number 
of  stars  visible  by  night,  and  which  clothes  our  flowering  plants 
with  more  numerous  flowers,  and  those  of  deeper  and  richer 
tints  ;  giving  somewhat  of  tropical  splendor  to  our  really  colder 
parallels  of  latitude. 

On  the  first  evolution  of  the  leaves  in  spring,  and  afterwards 
when  they  expand  during  a  series  of  cloudy  days,  their  color  is 
a  delicate  yellowish-green,  which  is  supposed  to  be  owing  to 
the  green  coloring  matter  within  the  cells  of  the  leaves,  the 
chromule,  or  chlorojjhylle,  seen  through  their  white  or  yellowish 
membranous  coverings.  A  few  hours  of  sunshine  give  a  visibly 
deeper  tint  to  the  green,  which  becomes  still  more  intense  in  the 
clear  and  bright  sunshine  of  June  and  July.  This  formation 
of  green  is  found  to  be  connected  with  the  decomposition  of  the 
carbonic  acid  gas  which  is  taken  up  in  the  sap,  and  the  conse- 
quent evolution  of  oxygen,  and  the  deposition  of  carbon  in  the 
vessels  of  the  plant.  The  color  of  the  chromule  is  therefore 
thought  to  depend  upon  its  greater  or  less  oxygenation ; — a  free 
acid,  that  is,  an  excess  of  oxygenation,  being  sometimes  found 
in  the  chromule,  when  it  has  become  yellow  or  red.  Minute 
portions  of  iron,  carried  up  by  the  sap,  and  deposited  in  the 


486        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

vessels  of  the  leaves,  may  possibly  contribute  to  the  depth  of 
the  colors,  although  some  of  the  best  physiologists  doubt  in 
regard  to  this. 

The  Red  Maple  is  usually  a  low,  round-headed  tree,  of  less 
beauty  of  shape  than  either  of  the  other  species.  But  the  great 
variety  of  rich  hues  which  it  assumes,  earlier  in  the  fall  than 
any  other  tree,  gives  it  a  conspicuous  place  in  our  many-colored 
autumnal  landscape.  It  sometimes,  when  growing  in  rich,  wet 
land,  attains  to  a  great  height  and  size,  rising  to  seventy  or 
eighty  feet,  with  a  trunk  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter.  It  has 
then  a  very  rough  bark. 

The  wood  is  whitish,  with  a  tint  of  rose  color,  of  a  fine  and 
close  grain,  compact,  firm  and  smooth,  the  silver  grain  lying  in 
layers  very  narrow  and  close,  and  the  pores  being  very  small. 
It  is  well  suited  for  turning,  and  takes  a  fine  polish;  is.  easily 
wrought,  and  serves  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes.  It  is  much 
used  for  common  bedsteads,  tables,  chairs,  bureaus  and  other 
cheap  furniture.  In  building,  it  serves  well  for  joists,  is  an  ex- 
cellent material  for  flooring,  and  may  be  used  for  any  part  not 
exposed  to  dampness.  It  lasts  well  in  the  flat  of  a  ship's  floor. 
It  has  sufficient  elasticity  to  serve  to  be  made  into  oars,  which 
are  almost  equal  to  those  of  white  ash.  Its  defects  are  want 
of  strength,  and  its  speedy  decay  when  alternately  exposed  to 
moisture  and  dryness. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  the  wood,  such  as  the  Curled 
Maple,  the  Landscape,  the  Mountain,  the  Blistered,  &c.  Curled 
Maple  is  the  name  given  to  a  variety  whose  longitudinal  fibres 
have  a  serpentine  course,  presenting,  when  sawn  lengthwise,  a 
varying  succession  of  light  and  shade,  which  has  a  beautiful 
effect  in  cabinet  work,  imitating  the  lustre  of  changeable  silk. 
It  is  comparatively  tough  and  compact,  while  it  is  very  light, 
and  is  used  for  gun-stocks  and  the  ornamented  handles  of  uten- 
sils. Landscape  and  Mountain  Maple  are  varieties  in  color, 
caused  by  the  irregular  change  from  sap-wood  to  heart-wood. 
These  are  much  used  for  the  foot  and  head-boards  of  bedsteads, 
and  for  pannels  of  doors  to  wardrobes,  &c.  Blistered  Maple  is 
'a  rare  variety,  resembling  the  Bird's  Eye  of  the  Rock  Maple. 
As  fuel,  the  Red  Maple  is  much  used,  burning  readily  and 


XXXIII.  THE  WHITE  MAPLE.  4S7 

rapidly  when  dry,  and,  for  this  purpose,  it  is  five  eighths  as 
valuable  as  rock  maple,  and  about  half  as  valuable  as  hickory. 

Bancroft  says  that  the  bark,  when  used  with  an  aluminous 
basis,  produces  a  lasting  cinnamon  color  on  wool  and  on  cotton  ; 
and  with  sulphate  or  acetate  of  iron,  communicates  to  them  a 
more  intense,  pure  and  perfect  black  than  even  galls,  or  any 
other  vegetable  substance  known  to  him ;  and  that  the  leaves 
produce  effects  nearly  similar  to  the  bark.*  Darlington  says 
that  the  bark  affords  a  dark,  purplish  blue  dye,  and  makes  a 
pretty  good  bluish-black  ink.  For  both  these  purposes,  its  use 
is  well  known  in  this  State.  The  sap  may,  like  that  of  the 
other  maples,  be  boiled  down  to  sugar,  but  it  is  only  half  as 
rich  in  saccharine  matter  as  that  of  the  Sugar  Maple. 

The  Red  Maple  is  of  rapid  growth,  young  trees  increasing  in 
diameter  from  two  fifths  to  two  thirds  of  an  inch  in  a  year, — 
older  ones  somewhat  less ; — the  average  may  be  not  far  from 
one  quarter  of  an  inch.  Though  it  may  be  made  to  grow  in 
any  land  not  too  dry,  it  flourishes  and  attains  its  largest  size 
only  in  rich  swampy  land. 

It  is  found  in  Canada,  and  thence,  southward  to  Florida,  and 
westward  to  the  sources  of  the  Oregon. 

Sp.  2.      The    White    Maple.     Acer  dasycarpwn.     Ehrenberg. 
Figured  in  Michaux,  I,  213,  Plate  40,  and  Loudon's  Arboretum,  V,  39  and  40. 

Along  the  sandy  or  gravelly  banks  of  clear,  flowing  streams, 
the  White  Maple  is  found  all  through  the  middle  and  western 
parts  of  the  State.  I  have  not  yet  found  it  nearer  to  Boston 
than  the  Ipswich  River  and  the  Sudbury  River,  in  Wayland 
and  Sudbury.  On  the  rich  meadows  on  Connecticut  River,  and 
on  the  Nashua  at  Lancaster,  where  alone  I  have  found  it  grow- 
ing in  favorable  circumstances,  it  expands  with  an  ample  spread 
of  limb,  forming  a  broad  and  magnificent,  if  not  a  lofty  head. 

From  the  red  maple,  with  which  it  is  sometimes  confounded, 
it  may  be  easily  distinguished  by  the  silvery  whiteness  of  the 
under  surface  of  the  leaves,  and  by  the  color  of  the  spray. 
The  young  shoots  are  of  a  light  green,  inclined  to  yellow,  with 

*  Philosophy  of  Permanent  Colors,  II,  272. 


488       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

oblong,  brown  dots ;  in  the  second  year,  they  become  finely 
striate  with  brown,  and  the  dots  enlarge.  Afterwards,  they 
assume  the  ash  or  granite  gray  of  the  trunk.  The  bark  con- 
tinues smooth  until  the  tree  has  attained  a  considerable  size ;  in 
old  trees  the  trunk  is  rough  with  oblong  scales,  several  inches 
in  length  and  free  at  one  end  or  both.  The  branches  are  large, 
gradually  expanding  as  they  ascend,  but  sometimes  pendulous, 
somewhat  in  the  manner  of  those  of  the  elm. 

The  flowers  come  out  early  in  April,  before  the  leaves.  The 
male  flowers  are  in  close,  abundant,  crowded  whorls,  on  long 
footstalks.  The  stamens  are  about  6.  The  female  flowers  are 
somewhat  less  crowded.  The  stigma  is  short.  The  two  kinds 
of  flowers  are  sometimes  intermingled.  The  pedicel  of  the 
female  flower  afterwards  lengthens.  The  mature  seed-vessels, 
or  samaroe,  cohere  at  a  somewhat  large  angle ;  they  are  thick, 
and  nearly  two  inches  in  length ;  when  young,  covered  with 
yellowish  hairs,  but  afterwards  becoming  nearly  smooth. 

The  leaves,  on  long  and  slender  footstalks,  are  often  five  or 
six  inches  long  and  four  or  five  wide,  deeply  divided,  usually 
into  5,  sometimes  into  but  3,  long  lobes,  tapering  to  a  long  point, 
each  somewhat  3-lobed  and  deeply  and  sharply  cut  into  slender 
teeth.  The  notches  between  the  lobes  are  formed  as  if  by  two 
circles  intersecting  each  other.  The  under  surface  of  the  leaves 
is  of  a  silvery  whiteness.  The  last  formed  leaves  are  remark- 
ably and  beautifully  cut.  The  young  leaves  are  covered  with 
a  brownish  pubescence,  but  at  length  become  entirely  smooth. 

The  wood  of  the  White  Maple,  is  soft,  white,  and  fine-grained, 
but  with  little  strength,  and  very  perishable.  It  is  therefore 
little  used  where  almost  any  other  wood  can  be  found.  Its  sap 
contains  sugar,  but  far  less  abundantly  than  the  Sugar  Maple. 
The  bark  may  be  used  with  the  salts  of  iron  to  form  a  black 
dye. 

The  beauty  of  the  finely  cut  foliage,  the  contrast  between  the 
rich  green  of  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves  and  the  silver 
color  of  the  lower,  and  the  magnificent  spread  of  the  limbs  of 
the  White  Maple,  recommend  it  as  an  ornamental  tree ;  and  it 
has  been  extensively  introduced  in  New  York,  Philadelphia 
and  some  other  cities. 


XXXIII.  THE  ROCK  MAPLE.  4S9 

On  the  banks  of  the  Nashua,  in  Lancaster,  below  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  two  streams,  in  a  meadow  pasture  on  the  north 
side,  are  found  some  old  River  Maples, — one,  which  had  been 
much  injured  by  the  ice,  in  the  freshets  of  former  years,  mea- 
sured, in  1840,  12  feet  9  inches  at  the  surface,  9  feet  G  inches 
at  3  feet,  and  10  feet  4  inches  at  6  feet  from  the  ground, — a  broad 
spreading  tree. 

On  the  meadows  at  Northampton,  near  the  road  from  the 
town  leading  to  the  ferry  of  Mt.  Holyoke,  one  is  found  which 
in  1837  measured  12|  feet  at  3|  feet  from  the  ground.  This  is 
a  noble  tree. 

An  old  gnarled  tree  in.  a  pasture  meadow  north  of  Centre 
Bridge,  Lancaster,  measured,  in  1840,  18  feet  5  inches  at  1  foot 
from  the  ground,  the  bulging  roots  preventing  my  measuring  it 
at  the  surface.  At  3  feet  it  measured  16  feet  8  inches,  at  6  feet 
13  feet  10|  inches.  It  divides  at  a  low  point  into  several  large 
branches,  and  rises  to  about  60  feet.  An  old  tree  on  the  Ather- 
ton  road  measured  15  feet  10  inches  near  the  roots,  and  12  feet 
4  inches  at  3  feet  above. 

A  vigorous,  round-headed  tree  near  Rev.  Louis  Dwight's  barn 
in  Stockbridge,  measured,  in  1843, 12  feet  in  girth  at  3  feet  from 
the  ground. 

Sp.  3.    The  Rock  Maple.    Sugar  Maple.    A.  saccharinum.    L. 

The  leaves,  flowers  and  fruit  are  well  figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  I,  Plate  42  ; 
a  young  tree,  leaves,  spray  and  flowers,  in  Loudon,  Arboretum,  V,  Plate  37. 

The  Rock  Maple  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  other  maples 
by  the  roundness  of  the  notch  between  the  lobes  of  the  leaves, 
which,  in  those  already  described,  is  somewhat  acute.  This 
tree,  which  is  also  called  Hard  Maple,  from  the  character  of  its 
wood,  and  Sugar  Maple,  from  the  valuable  product  of  its  sap, 
is,  in  all  respects,  the  most  remarkable  tree  of  the  family. 
When  young  it  is  a  beautiful,  neat,  and  shapely  tree,  with  a 
rich,  full,  leafy  head,  of  a  great  variety  of  forms, — enlarging 
upwards  and  forming  a  broad  mass  above, — or  tapering  at  each 
extremity  and  full  in  the  middle,  supported  by  an  erect,  smooth, 
agreeably  clouded  column,  with  a  clean  bark,  and  a  cheerful 
63 


490        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

appearance  of  vigor.  In  open  pastures,  on  moist  hills  and  moun- 
tain sides,  it  forms  a  broad  pyramidal  top,  the  branches  coming 
out  horizontally  or  with  a  gradual  upward  curvature,  from  a 
point  eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  ground.  On  the  plain,  in  deep, 
moist,  clayey  soils,  the  top  assumes  the  shape  of  a  massive 
cylindrical  column  of  great  height,  often  seventy  or  eighty  feet. 
In  the  forest,  it  assumes  its  most  remarkable  appearance ;  some- 
times, from  some  early  casualty,  it  is  seen  rising  with  many 
angles,  not  erect  but  zigzag,  and  with  broad,  rounded,  oblique 
ridges  on  its  trunk,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  without  branches,  and 
spreading  at  top  into  a  flat  head  of  many  limbs  ;  or,  more  fre- 
quently, going  up,  from  a  base  three  or  four,  or  even  six  feet  in 
diameter,  with  a  straight,  erect  trunk,  disfigured,  in  very  old 
trees,  by  gnarled  protuberances,  but  diminishing  in  size  very 
gradually,  to  a  vast  height,  and  there,  above  the  tops  of  the 
other  trees,  throwing  out  a  noble  head  of  contorted  and  irregu- 
lar but  vigorous  branches.  The  roots  are  large,  diverging  just 
above  or  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  running  near  it  at 
first,  but  afterwards  penetrating  deep.  The  bark  is  of  a  light 
bluish-gray  color,  and,  on  young  trees,  very  smooth  ;  on  old  trees 
it  is  rough,  with  very  long,  ascending  scales,  projecting  irregu- 
larly at  their  edges,  but  firmly  attached  at  the  middle  or  one 
side. 

The  leaves,  on  long,  slender  petioles,  are  from  three  to  five 
inches  long,  and  of  still  greater  breadth.  They  are  strongly 
heart-shaped,  or  sometimes  straight  at  base,  and  palmately  di- 
vided into  5  diverging  lobes,  which  are  separated  by  rounded 
sinuses,  and  of  which  the  two  lower  ones  are  much  smaller  and 
shorter  than  the  others ;  the  lobes  tapering  to  a  slender  point, 
and  the  larger  veins  forming  a  few,  large,  prominent  teeth. 
They  are  bright  green  and  smooth  above,  pale  glaucous,  and 
at  first  downy,  afterwards  smooth  beneath.  On  different  trees 
they  differ  strikingly  in  their  color,  being  sometimes  of  a  dark, 
and  sometimes  of  a  light  green  on  their  upper  surface.  In  au- 
tumn, they  become,  often  before  the  first  touch  of  the  frost,  of  a 
splendid  orange  or  gold,  sometimes  of  a  bright  scarlet  or  crim- 
son color,  each  tiee  commonly  retaining,  from  year  to  year,  the 
same  color  or  colors,  and  differing  somewhat  from  every  other. 


XXXIII.  THE  ROCK  MAPLE.  491 

The  sterile  flowers  are  yellowish-green,  on  an  undeveloped 
branch  with  a  pair  of  leaves  at  its  base,  and  proceed  from  a 
long,  large  bud,  whose  oblong  scales  are  purplish,  one  inch 
long  and  fringed  with  hairs.  The  flowers  are  pendulous,  on 
thread-like,  hairy  pedicels,  one  or  two  inches  long.  The  calyx 
is  hairy  on  the  edge  within;  petals  are  wanting ;  the  stamens 
are  about  8  or  10,  twice  as  long  as  the  calyx.  In  the  fertile 
flowers,  the  stamens,  about  8,  are  on  short  filaments,  and  the 
anthers  are  within  the  calyx.  The  stigmas  are  long,  the  ovary 
is  conical  and  hairy.  The  fruit  is  borne  on  long,  pendulous 
footstalks,  which  are  either  simple,  or  compound  with  several 
pairs  of  opposite  branches.  It  is  larger  and  fuller  than  that  of 
the  red  maple,  but  not  so  thick  as  that  of  the  river  maple. 

The  Rock  Maple  is  found  from  48°  north,  in  Canada,  to  the 
mountains  of  Georgia,  and  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Arkansas  and 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  most  abundant  in  the  New  Eng- 
land States  and  the  country  immediately  north  and  south  of 
them.  It  occurs  sparingly  in  the  eastern  counties  of  Massachu- 
setts, but  abundantly  in  the  middle  and  western  parts,  partic- 
ularly on  the  moist  sides  of  the  mountains  and  in  the  little 
valleys  amongst  them. 

For  the  purposes  of  art,  no  native  wood  possesses  more  beauty 
or  a  greater  variety  of  appearance  than  that  of  the  Rock  Maple. 
It  is  hard,  close-grained,  smooth  and  compact,  and  capable  of 
taking  and  retaining  an  exquisite  polish.  The  straight- grained 
or  common  variet}^  has  a  resemblance  to  satin-wood,  but  is  of  a 
deeper  color.  The  variety  called  Curled  Hard  Maple,  which 
is  caused  by  the  sinuous  course  of  the  fibres,  gives  a  change- 
able surface  of  alternate  light  and  shade,  exhibiting  an  agree- 
able and  striking  play  of  colors.  But  the  most  remarkable 
variety  is  the  Bird's  Eye  Maple.  This  is  so  called  from  a 
contortion  of  the  fibres  at  irregular  intervals,  throwing  out  a 
variable  point  of  light  and  giving  an  appearance  of  a  roundish 
projection,  rising  from  within  a  slight  cavity,  and  having  a  dis- 
tant resemblance  to  the  eye  of  a  bird.  All  the  varieties,  par- 
ticularly the  last,  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  articles  of 
furniture,  ward-robes,  chairs,  bedsteads,  bureaus,  portable  desks, 
frames  of  pictures,  &c.     The  straight-grained  variety  is  much 


492        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

used  in  the  manufacture  of  buckets  and  tubs,  and  is  preferred 
to  every  other  wood  for  the  making  of  lasts.  Of  these,  25,000 
a  year  are  made,  of  this  material,  in  one  shop  in  Lynn.  The 
wood  of  the  apple  tree  serves  as  a  substitute,  and  that  of  the 
red  maple  when  growing  in  pastures  :  but  no  other  wood  unites, 
in  an  equal  degree,  the  properties  of  softness  in  working,  tough- 
ness, compactness,  and  perfect  smoothness  when  exposed  to 
wear. 

In  naval  architecture,  the  Rock  Maple  furnishes  the  best  ma- 
terial, next  to  white  oak,  for  the  keel,  and  by  some  persons  it  is 
preferred  for  that  purpose.  A  very  intelligent  ship-builder  in 
Maine  writes  me,  "  For  keels,  the  Rock  Maple  is  preferred  for 
its  superior  compactness  and  the  cohesiveness  of  its  fibres,  which 
lie  in  zigzag  lines,  sometimes  entwining  themselves  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  render  it  almost  impossible  to  separate  them  or 
split  the  stick,  which  is  an  important  consideration  in  a  ship's 
keel,  it  being  liable  often  to  strike  the  bottom  and  rend.  The 
durability  of  all  kinds  of  wood  under  salt  water  being  consid- 
ered nearly  or  quite  equal,  all  objection  to  maple  on  account  of 
its  tendency  to  decay  when  not  constantly  submerged,  is  obvi- 
ated." 

In  the  forest,  the  Rock  Maple  often  attains  great  height,  and 
produces  a  great  quantity  of  timber.  A  tree  in  Blandford  which 
was  4  feet  through  at  base  and  108  feet  high,  yielded  seven 
cords  and  a  half  of  wood. 

As  fuel,  the  wood  of  the  Rock  Maple  holds  the  first  place,  in 
all  those  parts  of  New  England  where  the  hickory  is  not  found. 
The  ashes  abound  in  alkali ;  and  the  charcoal  made  from  the 
wood  is  the  best  in  the  Northern  States. 

Michaux  says  that  the  wood  of  this  tree  may  be  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  that  of  the  Red  Maple  or  the  River  Maple,  by 
pouring  a  few  drops  of  sulphate  of  iron  upon  it.  This  wood 
turns  greenish ;  that  of  the  Red  Maple  or  of  the  River  Maple, 
turns  to  a  deep  blue. 

In  Massachusetts,  between  five  hundred  and  six  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  of  sugar  are  annually  made,  from  the  juice  of  the 
Rock  Maple,  valued  at  about  eight  cents  a  pound.  The  sap  of 
all  the  maples  of  New  England,  and  also  of  the  birches,  the 


XXXIII.  THE  ROCK  MAPLE.  493 

lindens,  the  hickories  and  the  walnuts,  is  watery  and  sweet, 
and  contains  crystallizable  sugar ;  but  none  so  abundantly  as 
that  of  the  Sugar  Maple. 

The  Sugar  Maple  should  not  be  tapped  before  it  is  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years  old ;  but  the  process  may  be  repeated  annually 
as  long  as  the  tree  lives.  Some  trees  have  been  tapped  for  more 
than  forty  successive  years  without  apparent  injury.  Other 
trees  have  had  their  growth  retarded  by  it.  This  is  probably 
more  owing  to  the  wound  necessarily  inflicted,  than  to  the  loss 
of  the  sap,  as  it  is  found  that  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
sap  yielded  are  visibly  improved  after  the  first  tappings.  The 
quality  varies  with  the  situation  of  the  tree.  In  the  forest,  sur- 
rounded by  other  trees,  and  having  comparatively  few  branches 
and  leaves,  a  tree  yields  but  one  pound  of  sugar  for  five  or  six 
gallons  of  sap ;  when  growing  in  the  open  ground,  where  it  is 
exposed  to  the  action  of  the  sun  through  the  year,  a  tree  yields 
a  pound  from  four  and  sometimes  even  from  three  gallons.  The 
average  quantity  is  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  gallons  each 
season.  In  some  instances  it  is  much  greater.  A  gentleman* 
of  Bernardston  informs  me  that  a  tree  in  that  town  about  six 
feet  in  diameter,  favorably  situated,  produced,  in  one  instance, 
a  barrel  of  sap  in  twenty -four  hours.  The  quantity  depends 
also  on  the  number  of  openings  made  in  the  tree. 

The  sap  from  trees  growing  in  the  maple  orchards,  gives  an 
average  of  one  pound  of  sugar  to  about  four  gallons  of  sap  ; 
varying  considerably  in  different  years.  One  gentleman  in 
Bernardston  made  300  pounds  from  CO  trees;  another  400 
pounds  from  100  trees;  a  third  500  pounds  from  150  trees. 
Some  trees  will  give  10  pounds;  some,  more.  Dr.  Rushf  cites 
an  instance  of  20  pounds  and  one  ounce  having  been  produced, 
within  nine  days,  in  1789,  from  a  single  tree,  in  Montgomery 
Co.,  N.  Y.;  and  Michaux  quotes  the  Greensburgh  Gazette  as 
his  authority  for  saying  that  33  pounds  have  been  made  in  one 
season  from  a  single  tree.     Mr.  Lucius  Field,  of  Leverett,  in- 

*  Henry  W.  Cushman,  Esq.,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  much  valuable  infor- 
mation upon  this  subject. 

f  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush's  Letter  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  on  "the  Sugar  Maple  Tree," 
in  the  3d  Vol.  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Amer.  Philosophical  Society,  1st  series. 


494       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

formed  Mr.  Colman,  the  agricultural  commissioner,  that  in  one 
season  he  obtained,  from  one  tree,  175  gallons  of  sap,  which,  if 
of  average  strength,  would  have  made  43  pounds  of  sugar. 

There  are  different  opinions  as  to  the  character  of  the  winters 
most  favorable  to  the  production  of  sugar.  Open  winters  are 
thought  to  cause  the  sap  to  be  sweetest;  and  much  freezing  and 
thawing  to  make  it  most  abundant  and  of  the  best  quality. 
Michaux's  inquiries  led  him  to  think  a  cold  and  dry  winter 
most  favorable.  It  is  probable  that  the  product  depends  much 
more  on  the  character  of  the  previous  summer.  A  summer  of 
plentiful  rain  and  sunshine,  that  is,  one  which  furnishes  the 
trees  with  abundant  nutriment  and  is  at  the  same  time  favor- 
able to  the  elaboration  of  the  saccharine  matter  and  its  deposi- 
tion in  the  vessels  of  the  wood  of  the  tree,  ought  naturally  to 
prepare  a  plentiful  harvest  of  sugar  for  the  subsequent  spring. 

The  time  at  which  the  sap  begins  to  run  freely  varies  with 
the  season  and  with  the  exposure  and  elevation  of  the  ground. 
In  warm  and  low  situations,  it  is  earlier,  in  cold  and  elevated 
ones,  later.  It  sometimes  begins  about  the  middle  of  February, 
usually  about  the  second  week  in  March  and  continues  into 
April.  A  clear,  bright  day  with  a  westerly  wind,  succeeding  a 
frosty  night,  is  most  favorable  to  the  flow  of  sap ;  a  thawing 
night  is  thought  to  prevent  its  flow;  and  it  ceases  during  a  south 
wind,  and  at  the  approach  of  a  storm.  There  are  commonly  from 
ten  to  fifteen  "  good  sap  days  "  in  the  sap  season,  which  con- 
tinues about  six  weeks.  After  this,  in  spring,  and  also  in  sum- 
mer and  the  earlier  part  of  autumn,  sap  continues  to  flow,  but 
it  is  not  rich  in  saccharine  matter. 

The  sap  is  obtained  by  making  an  incision  with  a  chisel  and 
boring  with  a  small  bit,  or  by  boring,  with  an  augur  five  eighths 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  holes  inclining  upwards  to  the  depth  of 
from  two  to  six  inches,  according  to  the  size  of  the  tree,  and 
inserting  a  spout  made  of  elder,  or,  most  commonly,  sumac,  the 
pith  of  which  being  removed,  leaves  a  tube  large  enough  for  the 
purpose.  Several  holes  are  so  bored  that  their  spouts  shall  lead 
to  the  same  bucket,  and  high  enough  to  allow  the  bucket  to 
hang  two  or  three  feet  from  the  ground,  to  prevent  leaves  and 
dirt  from  being  blown  in.     The  openings  are  usually  made  on 


XXXIII.  THE  ROCK  MAPLE.  495 

the  south  and  east  side,  where  the  sap  begins  to  flow  earliest,  and 
afterwards  on  the  north  side ;  or,  more  commonly,  on  successive 
sides  in  successive  years.  The  sap  is  collected  in  large  wooden 
tubs,  casks,  or  troughs,  and  is  evaporated  by  boiling  over  a  wood 
fire,  in  iron  cauldrons  containing  one  or  two  barrels,  or  in  ves- 
sels of  iron  or  copper,  4  to  6  feet  long,  by  2|  to  3|  wide  and  8 
inches  to  1  foot  deep.  Sap  boiled  in  copper  yields  a  whiter 
sugar  than  that  boiled  in  iron,  unless  great  pains  are  taken  to 
keep  the  liquor  always  at  the  same  height  while  boiling.  The 
utmost  neatness  is  important  at  every  stage  of  the  preparation 
and  process.  In  a  dry,  elastic  atmosphere,  it  takes  from  two  to 
four  hours  to  boil  clown  a  barrel  of  sap  ;  and  a  hundred  weight 
of  sugar  is  said  to  take  one  cord  and  one  fourth  of  wood.  Dur- 
ing the  process  of  boiling,  the  sap  or  syrup  is  strained,  lime  or 
salseratus  is  added  to  neutralize  the  free  acid,  and  the  white  of 
egg,  isinglass  or  milk,  to  cause  foreign  substances  to  rise  in 
scum  to  the  surface.  When  sufficiently  boiled,  the  syrup  is 
poured  into  moulds  or  casks  to  granulate ;  and  the  uncrystal- 
lized  syrup  or  molasses  is  allowed  to  drain  off  through  suitable 
openings.  By  the  addition  of  lime  and  clarifying  substances  to 
the  remaining  syrup,  it  may  be  made  to  yield  a  further  quantity 
of  sugar,  as  its  complete  crystallization  is  prevented  by  the  pre- 
sence of  acid,  alkaline,  or  other  vegetable  matters.* 

When  carefully  made  and  purified,  maple  sugar  is  identical 
in  its  composition  with  that  from  the  sugar  cane.  From  the 
season,  and  the  mode  of  its  preparation,  and  the  character  of 

*  A  writer  in  the  Vermont  Temperance  Herald,  printed  at  Woodstock,  says, 
"  the  sap  should  be  gathered  in  a  tub  with  two  heads,  the  upper  one  being  four 
inches  below  the  top,  and  perforated  with  a  hole  eight  inches  square,  with  a  strain- 
er, so  that  all  the  sap  shall  be  strained  as  it  enters."  "  Even  with  the  upper  surface 
of  the  lower  head,"  or  bottom,  "the  tub  should  be  pierced  by  an  inch  auger,  and 
to  the  orifice  a  leathern  tube  of  the  same  diameter  affixed,  long  enough  to  reach 
over  the  top,  and  be  fastened  while  gathering."  "  The  boiling  pans  should  come  in 
contact  with  the  fire  only  at  a  part  somewhat  less  than  the  whole  lower  surface,  so 
that  the  sap  may  not  be  burnt.  To  this  end,  the  fire  should  be  kindled  under  a 
permanent  arch,  in  the  top  of  which  are  openings  twenty  inches  square  to  receive 
the  boiling  pans.  When  the  sap  is  reduced  to  syrup,  it  should  be  allowed  to  stand 
ten  or  twelve  hours,  that  all  remaining  impurities  may  subside,  and  it  should  be 
drawn  off  above  the  sediment,  and  placed  over  the  fire  to  'sugar  off.'  Throughout 
the  whole  operation,  it  is  better  policy  'to  keep  out  dirt  than  to  take  it  out.1  " 


496       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  persons  engaged  in  the  operation,  it  is  ordinarily  much 
cleaner  than  the  foreign  muscovado  sugars,  which  are  prepared 
usually  by  persons  stupid  and  unclean,  in  the  midst  of  insects 
and  of  decaying  vegetation.  It  is  desirable,  therefore,  that  its 
product  should  be  increased;  especially  as  it  is  made  at  a  sea- 
son of  the  year  not  occupied  by  other  rustic  employments,  and 
from  trees  whose  presence  along  the  borders  of  cultivated  lands 
is  a  shelter,  a  protection  and  an  ornament  to  the  fields  which 
they  skirt. 

In  Stockbridge,  Deerfield  and  many  others  of  our  most  beauti- 
ful western  towns,  a  single  or  double  row  of  Rock  Maples  is  the 
appropriate  and  magnificent  ornament  of  some  of  the  principal 
streets  and  roads.  They  elevate  the  public  taste  ;  they  may  be 
easily  made  also  to  contribute  to  sustain  the  public  burden. 

Sp.  4.     The  Striped  Maple.     Moose  Wood.     A.  Pennsylvan- 

icum.     L. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  I,  245 ;  and  Loudon,  Arboretum,  V,  28. 

This  graceful  little  tree  rarely  attains  to  more  than  twelve 
feet  in  height,  yet  I  have  measured,  among  the  Green  Moun- 
tains, east  of  Berkshire,  some  stalks  nearly  twenty-four  feet 
high,  and  a  plant  is  now  growing,  within  the  college  grounds  at 
Cambridge,  still  taller.  It  abounds  in  the  woods  in  the  western 
and  middle  part  of  the  State  and  in  Essex  County.  In  Maine, 
it  is  called  Moose  Wood,  the  bark  and  tender  branches  being 
the  favorite  food  of  the  moose,  and,  in  their  winter  beats,  it  is 
always  found  completely  stripped.  In  Massachusetts,  it  is 
known  by  this  name,  and  also  by  that  of  the  Striped  Maple. 

When  growing,  as  it  commonly  does,  in  the  shade,  the  recent 
shoots  are  green,  very  smooth,  hardly  dotted.  The  branches 
continue  of  a  light  green,  until  the  outer  bark  begins,  in  a  year 
or  two,  to  yield  and  cleave,  the  cellular  substance  showing  itself 
white  within,  in  longitudinal  lines,  which,  afterwards  turning 
brown,  give  rise  to  the  beautifully  striated  appearance  charac- 
teristic of  the  species.  The  leaves  are  opposite, — the  united 
bases  of  the  long,  round  footstalks  embracing  the  branch, — 
large,  ending  in  3  long,  acuminate  lobes,  sometimes  5  or  7,  the 
primary   veins   being   7, — finely   and   sharply   serrate,    heart- 


XXXIII.  THE  MOUNTAIN  MAPLE.  497 

shaped  or  rounded  at  base,  smooth,  impressed  at  the  veins 
above,  paler  and  with  the  veinlets  ferruginous,  downy,  or  hairy 
beneath ;  cicatrix  of  the  bud  leaves  conspicuous,  above  which 
are  two  raised  lines  encircling  the  branch.  Upper  leaves  often 
long  and  very  narrow.     Clusters  of  fruit  pendulous. 

I  have  no  doubt,  from  what  I  have  observed  of  this  beautiful 
tree,  that  it  might  be  easily  trained  to  a  height  of  thirty  feet. 
I  have  found  it  growing  naturally  twenty-five  feet  high,  and 
nineteen  or  twenty  inches  in  circumference,  and  Mr.  Bacon,  of 
Richmond,  tells  me  he  has  known  it  attain  the  height  of  thirty- 
five  feet.  It  well  deserves  careful  cultivation.  The  striking 
striated  appearance  of  the  trunk,  at  all  times,  the  delicate  rose 
color  of  the  buds  and  leaves  on  opening,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
ample  foliage  afterwards,  the  graceful,  pendulous  racemes  of 
flowers,  succeeded  by  large,  showy  keys,  not  unlike  a  cluster 
of  insects,  Avill  sufficiently  recommend  it.  In  France,  Michaux 
says  it  has  been  increased  to  four  times  its  natural  size  by 
grafting  on  the  sycamore. 

There  are  few  uses  of  this  beautiful  little  tree.  In  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  State,  where  it  is  well  known,  its  leaves  are 
successfully  applied  to  inflamed  wounds  and  bruises. 

Sp.  5.     The  Mountain  Maple.     A.  spicatam.     L. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  134  ;  also  by  Michaux,  I,  253  ;  Loudon, 

Arboretum,  V,  30. 

The  Mountain  Maple  is  a  slender,  small  tree  or  shrub,  usually 
rising  eight  feet  or  more,  although  it  sometimes  attains  thrice  that 
height,  as  I  observed  particularly  in  Becket.  The  recent  shoots 
are  of  a  fresh,  light  green,  with  an  orange  or  purplish  shade, 
somewhat  downy.  Those  of  the  previous  year  are  of  a  light 
purple,  smooth,  with  indistinct  dots,  blotched  and  striated  below 
with  green.  The  branches  and  trunk  are  of  a  clear,  light  gray, 
striate  with  olive  above  and  rough  at  base. 

The  leaves,  which  are  heart-shaped  at  base,  coarsely  toothed, 
downy  beneath,  and  divided  into  3  or  5  lobes,  which  taper  to  a 
point,  are  on  very  long  petioles,  which  become  scarlet  in  Sep- 
tember. The  racemes  are  on  the  ends  of  the  branches,  the  keys 
very  divergent,  and  smaller  than  those  of  any  other  species. 
64 


498        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  flowers  are  small,  yellowish-green,  very  delicate,  in  an 
erect  or  nodding,  slender,  terminal  raceme,  five  to  six  inches 
long.  Partial  flower-stalk  a  thread  one  third  of  an  inch  long. 
Calyx  ending  in  5  downy  lobes,  alternate  with  which  are  the 
slender,  linear-lanceolate  petals,  broader  at  the  end,  half  as 
long  as  the  stamens.  Stamens  8,  rising  from  a  glandular,  yel- 
low disk,  encircling  the  germ,  which,  in  the  barren  flowers,  is 
replaced  by  a  tuft  of  white  hairs.  A  few  of  the  lower  flowers 
in  each  raceme  are  usually  fertile,  and  in  them  the  centre  of 
the  much  smaller  disk  is  occupied  by  the  two-pointed  germ. 

This  plant,  like  the  previous  one,  is  rarely  found  except  in 
the  forest.  It  occurs  in  moist,  rocky,  mountainous  land,  in  all 
parts  of  the  State.  It  assumes,  towards  autumn,  various  rich 
shades  of  red,  and,  as  sometimes  seen,  eighteen  or  twenty  feet 
high,  hanging  over  the  sides  of  a  road  through  woods,  with  its 
clusters  of  fruit  beneath  the  leaves,  turning  yellowish  when  the 
leaf-stalks  are  scarlet,  it  has  considerable  beauty.  Like  the 
previous  species,  it  may  be  much  improved  in  size  by  engraft- 
ing on  the  larger  species  of  maple. 


XXXIV.  THE  SUMACH  FAMILY.  499 


CHAPTER  VII. 

POLYPETALOUS  PLANTS,  WITH  STAMENS  AND  PETALS  GROWING  UPON 

THE  RECEPTACLE. 

FAMILY  XXXIV.    THE  SUMACH  FAMILY.    ANACARDIA^CEJE. 

R.  Brown. 

This  order  includes  trees  or  shrubs,  with  a  resinous,  gummy, 
caustic  or  milky  juice  ;  with  simple  or  compound,  alternate 
leaves,  without  stipules,  and  with  axillary  or  terminal,  mostly 
panicled  flowers.  The  flowers  are  perfect,  or  sterile  and  fertile  on 
different  plants, — distinct,  regular;  the  calyx  has  5,  or  rarely,  3, 
4  or  7  divisions ;  the  petals,  of  the  same  number,  are  inserted,  as 
are  the  stamens,  into  the  bottom  of  the  calyx ;  the  stamens  are 
as  many  as  the  petals  and  alternate  with  them,  or  twice  as  many 
or  more,  sometimes  sterile,  anthers  opening  inwards.  Ovary 
solitary,  free,  1-celled ;  styles  1  or  3,  sometimes  none ;  stigmas 
as  many ;  ovule  solitary,  attached  by  a  cord  to  the  bottom  of 
the  cell.  Fruit  indehiscent,  commonly  like  a  drupe;  embryo 
curved  ;  cotyledons  thick  and  fleshy,  or  leafy. 

The  plants  of  this  type  have  small  flowers,  and  abound  in  a 
resinous  juice  sometimes  acrid  and  very  poisonous.  In  several, 
the  juice  is  white  and  clammy,  and  afterwards  turns  black,  and 
may  be  used  as  varnish.  The  Marking  Nut-tree,  Semecarpus 
anacardium,  furnishes  the  celebrated  varnish  of  Sylhet ;  and  the 
Theet-see,  Melanorhce'a  usitatissima,  that  of  Martaban,  and  pro- 
bably a  black  lac.  All  these  varnishes  are  dangerous,  and  when 
applied  to  the  skin,  often  produce  painful  and  extensive  swellings. 
The  most  valuable  varnishes  of  Japan  and  China  are  obtained 
from  plants  of  this  order.  Mastich,  and  Scio  turpentine,  are 
the  produce,  severally,  of  Pistacia  lentiscus  and  terebinlhus. 
The  seeds  of  the  Cashew-nut,  and  of  the  Pistacia-nut  are  eat- 
able, and  the  fruit  of  the  Mango  delicious. 

Chiefly  natives  of  the  tropics ;  some  species  of  Rhus  are  found 


500       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

in  Europe  and  several  in  North  America,  and  this  is  the  only 
genus  yet  found  in  Massachusetts. 

THE  SUMACH.     RHUS.     L. 

A  genus  of  about  eighty  species  of  shrubs  or  small  trees, 
found  in  temperate  regions  and  near  the  tropics,  on  both  conti- 
nents, particularly  in  China  and  Japan,  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  and  in  the  United  States.  Their  leaves  are  simple,  ter- 
nate,  or  unequally  pinnate  ;  and  their  flowers,  which  are  small, 
but  frequently  form  large,  showy  spikes,  are  either  perfect,  or, 
more  often,  sterile  and  fertile  on  different  plants.  They  have  5, 
small,  persistent  sepals,  united  at  base;  5  ovate  petals;  5,  rarely 
10,  equal  stamens;  1  or  3  styles;  3  stigmas.  The  fruit  is  a 
drupe,  almost  dry,  often  richly  colored,  with  a  bony,  1-celled 
nut,  and  a  solitary  seed. 

Several  species  of  sumach  have  a  milky,  poisonous  juice, 
turning  black,  on  exposure  to  air,  and  forming  sometimes  a 
varnish,  sometimes  an  ingredient  for  indelible  ink.  A  Euro- 
pean species,  the  Tanner's  Sumach,  R.  coriaria,  is  valuable  to 
the  tanner,  as  is  our  common  Stag's  Horn  Sumach. 

Most  of  the  species  exhale  a  terebinthine  odor  when  rubbed. 
Several  of  them  contain  an  acrid  juice,  which  causes  painful 
eruptions.  The  precious  varnish  of  Japan  is  said  to  be  made 
from  the  juice  of  the  Varnish  Sumach,  R.  vernicifera,  of  that 
country. 

Besides  the  native  species  hereafter  described,  the  Venetian 
Sumach,  R.  colinus,  commonly  called  Smoke-tree,  is  much  cul- 
tivated as  a  curious  and  beautiful  plant.  In  Greece  and  Russia, 
it  is  used  for  tanning  and  for  dyeing  a  rich,  beautiful  yellow, 
and  in  Italy,  about  Venice,  for  dyeing  black,  and  also  for  tan- 
ning leather. 

The  Sumachs  are  much  cultivated  for  their  singularity,  and 
the  beauty  of  the  foliage,  especially  in  autumn,  when  it  assumes 
the  richest  colors.  The  most  elegant  species  cannot  be  safely 
admitted  into  gardens,  on  account  of  their  poisonous  qualities. 
The  Dwarf  Sumach  deserves  more  attention  than  it  has  re- 
ceived.    The  larger  species  make  a  fine  show  at  a  distance, 


XXXIV.  THE  STAG'S  HORN  SUMACH.  501 

and  are  suitable  to  be  left  in  the  corners  of  fields  and  along 
avenues.  They  are  easily  propagated  by  seed,  and  some  of 
them  by  cuttings  of  the  branches.  All  the  species  are  easily 
propagated  by  cuttings  of  the  roots. 

Sp.  1.     The  Stag's  Horn  Sumach.     R.  lyphina.     L. 

This  is  a  tall  shrub,  often  becoming  a  small  tree,  sometimes 
of  the  height  of  twenty -five  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  four  or 
rive  inches,  with  irregular,  crooked  branches.  In  July  and 
August,  the  heads  of  fruit  assume  a  rich  scarlet  or  crimson 
color,  afterwards  turning  purple,  and  remain  conspicuous  and 
beautiful  into  the  winter,  while,  in  autumn,  the  leaves  begin 
early  to  turn,  and  become  of  a  red  color  with  various  shades  of 
yellow,  orange  and  purple.  The  ends  of  the  branches,  from 
their  irregularity  and  the  abundant  down  with  which  they  are 
covered,  resemble  the  young  horns  of  a  stag,  whence  the  name. 

The  flowers  are  yellowish-green,  in  a  broad,  tapering,  branch- 
ed panicle,  five  to  twelve  inches  long,  the  common  and  partial 
stalks,  like  the  leaf-stalks,  clothed  with  a  coarse,  downy  hair. 
Calyx  short,  hairy,  the  segments  pointed,  erect.  Petals  thrice 
as  long,  greenish-yellow,  somewhat  contracted  at  base,  ovate, 
rounded,  concave,  hairy  within,  reflected,  except  at  the  tip. 
Stamens  5,  short,  erect,  rising  from  the  edge  of  a  broad,  orange 
or  scarlet  disk ;  anthers  large,  opening  inwards,  from  top  to 
bottom.  Pollen  orange.  Stigmas  3,  on  green  styles,  from  the 
centre  of  the  disk. 

On  the  fertile  plants,  the  stamens  are  usually  wanting  or  very 
minute,  and  3  short,  purple  stigmas  crown  a  velvety  germ, 
clothed  abundantly  with  crimson  hairs.  The  pinnate  leaflets 
are  sessile,  narrow,  oblong-lanceolate,  serrate,  and  terminate  in 
a  long  point. 

The  wood  is  of  a  yellowish  or  greenish-yellow  color,  brittle, 
but  of  a  soft,  satiny  texture  and  close-grained.  The  pith,  which 
is  abundant,  is  of  a  yellowish  color. 

The  leaves  and  bark  are  astringent  and  used  in  tanning,  and 
the  root  has  been  found  efficacious  in  fevers.  The  juice  is 
milky  and  abundant,  very  adhesive,  and  turning  black  on  ex- 
posure to  the  air. 


502  ;      WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Sp.  2.     The  Smooth  Sumach.     R.  glabra.     L. 
Figured  in  Catesby,  Plate  104. 

This  is  a  handsome,  spreading,  leafy  bush,  usually  four  to 
six,  rarely  ten  feet  high,  with  irregular  branches,  growing  by 
the  sides  of  woods  and  enclosures,  or  in  barren  fields,  in  dry 
situations,  and  distinguished  by  its  smoothness,  the  purple  stalks 
of  its  compound  leaves  and  a  long  head  of  yellowish-green 
flowers  of  an  agreeable  fragrance..  The  recent  shoots  are  stout, 
smooth  and  of  a  shining  green. 

The  leaves  are  compound,  often  a  foot  or  more  long,  with 
from  13  to  19  leaflets,  on  a  large,  smooth  stalk,  purple  where 
exposed  to  light,  swelling  gradually  towards  the  base,  some- 
times a  little  hairy  between  the  leaflets.  The  leaflets  are  ses- 
sile, oblong-lanceolate,  rounded  at  base  or  heart-shaped,  gradu- 
ally tapering  to  a  long  point,  somewhat  reflexed  at  the  margin, 
with  a  few  almost  obsolete  serratures,  or  nearly  entire,  or  acutely 
serrate,  smooth  and  dark  green  above,  glaucous  beneath.  Buds 
conical,  white,  woolly,  concealed  within  the  swollen  base  of  the 
leaf-stalk. 

The  flowers  are  in  large,  much-branched  heads,  from  six  to 
twelve  inches  long,  on  the  ends  of  the  branches  ;  the  compound 
branchlets  of  the  flower-head  alternating,  as  if  they  were  the 
continuation  of  the  leaves.  The  individual,  sterile  flowers  are 
on  a  short,  somewhat  hairy  pedicel,  greenish-yellow ;  calyx 
short,  segments  5,  erect,  triangular  or  oblong  and  tapering, 
green;  petals  of  the  same  length  or  longer,  concave,  hairy 
within,  ending  in  a  pointed  beak,  bent  inwards.  Stamens 
short,  issuing  from  beneath  the  edge  of  a  scarlet,  fleshy  disk, 
and  bearing  large  anthers,  opening  inwards.  Styles  3,  scarlet, 
club-shaped,  nearly  as  long  as  the  stamens. 

This  plant  sometimes  overspreads  considerable  tracts  in  neg- 
lected fields,  and  by  the  toughness  and  size  of  its  roots  renders 
them  difficult  to  be  ploughed. 

The  velvety,  crimson  berries,  are  astringent,  and  of  an  agree- 
able acid  taste,  for  which  reason  they,  as  well  as  those  of  R. 
copallbia,  are  sometimes  used  as  a  substitute  for  lemon  juice, 
for  various  purposes  in  domestic  economy  and  medicine,  and  to 


XXXIV.  THE  MOUNTAIN  SUMACH.  503 

turn  cider  into  vinegar.  The  acid  is  found  to  be  the  bi-malate 
of  lime ;  and  with  a  microscope,  the  crystals  may  be  seen  min- 
gled with  the  down  on  the  outside  of  the  berries. 

Prof.  Wm.  B.  Rogers*  recommends  the  following  process  for 
obtaining  it  perfectly  pure  : — "  A  quantity  of  hot  rain  water  or 
distilled  water  is  poured  over  the  berries  in  a  clean  wooden  or 
earthen  vessel.  After  allowing  the  berries  to  macerate  for  a  day 
or  two,  the  liquid  is  poured  off  and  evaporated  carefully  in  an 
earthen  or  porcelain  dish,  until  it  becomes  intensely  acid.  It  is 
now  filtered  through  animal  charcoal  or  bone  black,  repeatedly 
washed  with  muriatic  acid.  The  liquid  passes  through  almost 
colorless,  having  only  a  slight  amber  tint.  If  the  evaporation 
has  been  carried  sufficiently  far,  a  large  deposit  of  crystals  will 
form  in  a  few  hours.  The  liquid  being  poured  off  and  further 
reduced  by  evaporation,  an  additional  crop  of  crystals  may  be 
obtained,  and  in  this  way  nearly  all  the  bi-malate  may  be  sepa- 
rated. The  salt  thus  procured  will  often  be  slightly  tinged  with 
coloring  matter,  in  which  case  it  should  be  re-dissolved  in  hot 
water  and  crystallized  anew.     It  is  then  perfectly  pure." 

The  berries  are  also  used  in  dyeing  and  give  their  own  color. 
Kalm  says,  that  the  branches  boiled  with  the  berries,  afford  a 
black,  ink-like  tincture.-f- 

The  pith  of  this,  as  of  the  other  sumachs,  is  very  consider- 
able. Of  the  wood,  the  outermost  circles  are  white,  the  inner- 
most of  a  yellowish-green.  The  wood  burns  well  and  without 
much  crackling. 

Sp.  3.  The  Mountain  Sumach.  Dwarf  Sumach.  R.  copalllna.  L. 

A  beautiful  plant,  growing  on  dry,  rocky  or  sandy  hills  or 
road-sides,  usually  to  the  height  of  three  to  five  feet,  but  some- 
times, in  favorable,  protected  situations,  to  eight  or  ten,  some- 
times eighteen  or  twenty  feet,  and  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter. 

Branches  and  common  footstalks  of  the  leaves  and  flowers 
pubescent,  dotted  with  brown.  Leaflets  9  to  21,  nearly  sessile, 
oval-lanceolate  or  oblong-lanceolate,  unequal  at  base,  rounded 
below  often  acute  above,  acute  at  the  end, — the  terminal  leaflet 

*  In  Silliman's  Journal,  Vol.  XXVII,  p.  295.  t  Kalm's  Travels,  I,  75. 


504       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

acuminate, — entire,  polished  as  if  varnished  above,  lighter  and 
somewhat  downy  beneath,  footstalk  conspicuously  winged  be- 
tween the  leaflets,  and  apparently  jointed ;  becomes  a  deep  pur- 
ple. Flowers  greenish-yellow,  in  a  terminal  panicle,  the  lower 
branches  of  which  are  in  the  axil  of  leaves. 

In  the  sterile  flowers,  the  calyx  is  5-parted,  with  ovate,  con- 
cave, pointed,  green  segments.  The  petals  of  the  corolla  pale 
yellow,  concave,  obovate  or  wedge-shaped,  at  last  reflexed. 
Filaments  subulate,  shorter  than  the  alternate  petals.  Anthers 
attached  by  the  middle.  Pollen  orange.  Abortive  pistil  short, 
stigma  reddish,  3-cleft,  on  a  reddish,  annular  disk.  The  panicle 
of  the  sterile  flowers  is  very  long,  twelve  to  eighteen  inches, 
with  the  stock  very  downy.  The  sterile  flowers  continue  to 
open  through  August,  while  the  fertile  ones  are  almost  mature. 

The  fertile  flowers  grow  in  much  smaller  panicles,  three  to 
six  inches  long,  on  shorter  and  less  downy  branches. 

Fruit  a  somewhat  compressed,  short,  ovoid  drupe,  surmounted 
by  the  tri-fid  stigma  and  scattered  with  gray  dots. 

The  berries  have  the  same  agreeable  acid  as  those  of  the 
Smooth  Sumach,  and  are  used  for  the  same  purposes.  In  Mis- 
sissippi and  Missouri,  the  leaves  are  used  by  the  Indians  with, 
or  as  a  substitute  for,  tobacco. 

The  varnished  polish  of  the  leaves,  and  the  rich  purple  they 
assume  in  autumn,  as  well  as  the  scarlet  of  the  leafy  heads  of 
fruit,  make  this  species  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  genus. 

Sp.  4.     The  Poison  Sumach.     R.  venenata.     De  Candolle. 
Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  I,  Plate  10. 

I  have  followed  Torrey  and  Gray  in  the  name  of  this  plant, 
as  it  is  now  ascertained  that  it  is  distinct  from  the  true  R.  vernix 
of  Linn.,  Mat.  Med.  and  of  Thunburg, — R.  vernicijldra,  D  C, 
which  it  nearly  resembles  and  with  which  it  was  long  con- 
founded. 

The  Poison  Sumach,  known  also  by  the  names  of  Dogwood 
and  Poison  Wood,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  plant  of  the 
swamps.  It  rises,  with  a  stem  of  light  ash  gray,  to  the  height  of 
eight  or  ten,  sometimes  of  fifteen  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  two  or 
three  inches, — in  rare  instances,  these  dimensions  are  doubled, — 


XXXIV.  THE  POISON  SUMACH.  505 

throwing  out  a  few  branches  towards  the  top.  The  wood  is 
brittle  and  the  stem  full  of  pith.  The  recent  shoots  are  rather 
stout  and  tough,  purple,  or  green  clouded  with  purple,  crowded 
with  orange  dots  which  soon  change  to  an  orange  gray.  The 
leaf-stalks  are  purple,  or  greenish-purple,  or  umber.  The  leaf- 
lets, 3  to  13  in  number,  are  nearly  sessile,  varying  from  ovate  to 
obovate,  lanceolate,  unequal  at  base,  acute  below,  somewhat 
rounded  above,  pointed  at  the  end  or  slightly  acuminate,  entire, 
margin  somewhat  reflexed,  dark  green,  and  with  a  rich  polish, 
the  veins  of  a  purplish  red  above,  much  paler,  sometimes  downy, 
conspicuously  reticulate  beneath.  The  flowers,  which  are  small 
and  greenish-yellow,  are  in  open,  loose  panicles,  from  the  axils 
of  the  leaves.  The  sterile  and  fertile  flowers  are  on  different 
plants,  the  panicles  of  the  latter  eight  or  ten  inches  long,  those 
with  the  sterile  flowers  still  longer.  At  the  base  of  the  partial 
footstalks  are  slender,  oblong,  tapering  bracts.  The  segments 
of  the  calyx  are  ovate,  the  petals  usually  curved ;  the  stamens 
longer  and  alternating  with  them. 

This  is  the  most  poisonous  woody  plant  of  New  England. 
Some  persons  are  so  susceptible  to  its  influence,  as  to  be  poisoned 
by  the  air  blowing  from  it,  or  by  being  near  a  fire  on  which  it  is 
burning.  The  poison  shows  itself  in  painful  and  long-continued 
swellings  and  eruptions  of  the  face  and  hands  and  other  parts  of 
the  body.  These  effects  are  exasperated  by  smelling  or  hand- 
ling the  plant.  Other  persons  handle  and  rub  it,  and  even  chew 
and  swallow  the  leaves,  with  impunity.  These  opposite  effects 
are  sometimes  produced  on  individuals  of  the  same  family.  In 
some  instances,  persons  ordinarily  exempt  from  its  effects,  have 
been  poisoned  by  being  exposed  to  its  influence  while  in  a  state 
of  perspiration. 

Professor  Hopkins,  of  Williams  College,  informs  me  that  he 
has  found  a  decoction  of  the  root  of  the  Indian  Poke  of  the  low 
grounds,  Yeratrum  viride,  very  efficacious  as  a  remedy  in  cases 
of  poison  from  this  plant. 

The  near  resemblance  in  all  the  properties  of  the  Poison  Su- 
mach, to  those  of  the  Varnish-yielding  Sumach  of  Japan,  from 
which,  according  to  Thunberg,  the  best  varnish  of  that  country 
is  obtained,  has  led  to  the  belief  that  a  similar  substance  might 
65 


506        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

be  procured  from  it.  To  this  end,  Dr.  Bigelow  made,  in  1815, 
several  experiments,  which  seem  to  establish  this  point  in  a 
manner  very  satisfactory. 

"  A  quantity  of  the  juice  was  boiled  alone,  until  nearly  all  the 
volatile  oil  had  escaped,  and  the  remainder  was  reduced  almost 
to  the  state  of  a  resin.  In  this  state,  it  was  applied  while  warm 
to  several  substances,  which,  after  cooling,  exhibited  the  most 
brilliant,  glossy,  jet  black  surface.  The  coating  appeared  very 
durable  and  firm,  and  was  not  affected  by  moisture.  It  was 
elastic  and  perfectly  opaque,  and  seemed  calculated  to  answer 
the  purposes  of  both  paint  and  varnish." — Med.  Bot.,  I,  101-2. 

The  poisonous  property,  as  in  most  cases  of  vegetable  poisons, 
seems  to  be  removed  by  evaporation  or  boiling ;  and  the  dry 
varnish  would  probably  be  innocuous. 

Sp.  5.     The  Poison  Ivy.     R.  toxicodendron.     L. 
Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  III,  Plate  42. 

R.  toxicodendron  and  radlcans  of  Linnaeus  and  other  au- 
thors. When  climbing  over  rocks  or  on  the  trunks  of  trees,  it 
seems  to  have  been  considered  R.  radlcans  ;  when  standing  by 
itself,  and  forced  to  erect  a  portion  of  its  stem,  R.  toxicodendron. 
I  have  never  been  able  to  find  a  precise  distinction  between  the 
several  forms  of  this  plant,  which  pass  into  each  other,  and  am 
glad  to  see  that  they  are  considered  by  Torrey  and  Gray  as 
only  varieties. 

The  Poison  Ivy  is  a  hardy  plant,  frequent  in  moist  or  shady 
places,  climbing  over  rocks  to  which  it  attaches  itself  by  numer- 
ous radicles  which  penetrate  the  investing  lichens,  or  over 
bushes  and  along  the  trunks  of  trees,  often  to  a  great  height, 
fastening  itself  to  the  bark  so  firmly  that  it  breaks  more  readily 
than  it  is  detached,  and  so  closely  as  to  impede  the  growth  of 
the  plant. 

The  leaves  are  in  threes,  on  a  petiole  sometimes  perfectly 
smooth,  sometimes  downy,  flattened  above.  The  leaflets  are 
smooth  and  shining  on  both  surfaces,  broad-ovate,  acuminate, 
entire  or  variously  and  irregularly  toothed  and  lobed ;  the  lateral 
ones  nearly  sessile,  broader  below,  the  terminal  on  a  stalk  six  to 
eighteen  lines  long,  or  sometimes  closely  sessile.     The  sterile 


XXXIV.  THE  FRAGRANT  SUMACH.  507 

and  fertile  flowers  are  on  different  plants,  in  panicles  in  the 
angle  of  the  leaves  or  of  the  scales  near  the  base  of  the  recent 
shoots.  The  partial  flower-stalks  are  very  short ;  the  calyx  of 
the  fertile  flowers  of  5  pointed,  greenish-white  segments,  clasp- 
ing the  corolla  of  5  whitish-yellow,  veined,  flat  or  reflexed, 
rounded  or  pointed  segments ;  stamens  5,  short,  anthers  orange, 
large,  opening  laterally ;  ovary  ovate,  with  1  large  terminal  and 
2  smaller,  lateral  stigmas.  The  sterile  flowers  have  a  perianth 
of  10  pieces,  the  2  or  3  outer  ones  short,  pointed,  green ;  the 
next  2  or  3,  wider  and  longer,  resembling  the  5  interior,  which 
are  ovate,  white  veined  with  purple ;  stamens  5,  with  flat  an- 
thers. 

This  plant,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  poisonous  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Poison  Sumach,  but  in  an  inferior  degree.  As  is 
the  case  with  all  vegetable  poisons,  different  constitutions  are 
differently  affected  by  it.  All  persons,  probably,  might  be  poi- 
soned by  it.  My  brother,  W.  S.  Emerson,  a  physician,  who  had 
always  handled  it  with  impunity,  wishing  to  ascertain  this  in  his 
own  case,  scarified  his  arm  and  applied  the  expressed  juice  to 
the  wounds.  Within  twenty-four  hours,  the  arm  began  to  swell 
and  be  painful,  and  in  a  few  days  an  ulcer  was  produced  on  the 
scarified  portion,  painful,  of  long  continuance  and  very  difficult 
to  heal,  with  the  remedies,  acetate  of  lead  and  corrosive  subli- 
mate, recommended  in  Dr.  Bigelow's  excellent  account  of  the 
plant  in  his  Medical  Botany. 

The  juice  of  this  plant  is  yellowish  and  milky,  becoming 
black  after  a  short  exposure  to  the  air.  It  has  been  used  as 
marking  ink,  and,  on  linen,  is  indelible. 

Sp.  6.     The  Fragrant  Sumach.     R.  aromatica.     Aiton. 

This  plant  has  quite  a  different  aspect  from  any  of  the  sumachs 
previously  described.  I  have  not  found  it  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State ;  but  Prof.  Dewey  tells  me  it  grows  near  Williams 
College.  It  has  long  been  cultivated  at  the  Botanic  Garden, 
Cambridge,  where  it  is  a  straggling  bush,  four  or  five  feet 
high,  with  a  brown,  smoothish  stem,  and  somewhat  numerous 
branches. 

The  leaves  are  ternate  on  a  short  petiole ;   leaflets  sessile, 


508        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

oblong-ovate  or  obovate,  or  rhomboidal,  ciliate  on  the  margin, 
with  3  or  4  rounded  or  obtuse  teeth  on  each  side,  very  downy 
on  both  surfaces  when  young,  leathery  and  smooth  after  mid- 
summer. The  yellowish  flowers  project,  on  a  short  footstalk, 
from  the  angular,  hairy-edged,  brown,  imbricate  scales  of  a 
catkin  which  grows  on  a  short  stalk  from  the  axil  of  last  year's 
leaves. 

In  the  fertile  flowers,  the  segments  of  the  calyx  are  rounded, 
those  of  the  corolla  more  than  twice  the  length,  oblong ;  the  sta- 
mens wanting ;  the  disk  at  the  bottom  of  the  cup  crenate  ;  the 
ovary  egg-shaped ;  the  styles  3,  short,  with  enlarged  stigmas. 

This  plant  is  cultivated  in  England  and  France  on  account 
of  the  agreeable  fragrance  of  its  leaves  when  crushed. 


FAMILY  XXXV.     THE   PRICKLY  ASH  FAMILY.     XANTHOXY- 
LASCE2E.     Adrien  de  Jussieu. 

A  family  of  trees  and  shrubs,  with  aromatic,  bitter,  and  pun- 
gent bark,  leaves  without  stipules,  alternate  or  opposite,  simple, 
or,  more  commonly,  unequally  pinnate,  with  pellucid  dots ;  and 
gray,  green,  or  pink,  axillary  or  terminal  flowers.  They  are 
found  most  abundantly  in  America,  particularly  in  the  tropical 
regions,  also  in  Africa  and  its  islands  and  in  India  and  China. 
Flowers  sometimes  perfect,  usually  fertile  and  barren  on  differ- 
ent plants.  Sepals  3  to  9 ;  petals  as  many,  or  wanting ;  stamens 
as  many  or  twice  as  many.  Seed-vessels  2  or  more,  on  the 
receptacle,  distinct,  or  more  or  less  united ;  seeds  1  or  2  in  each 
cell  or  seed-vessel,  smooth  and  shining. 

The  only  genus  foimd  in  Massachusetts  is 

THE  PRICKLY  ASH.     XANTHCTXYLUM.     L. 

This  is  a  genus  of  forty  or  fifty  species  of  plants,  chiefly 
American,  and  principally  found  within  the  tropics.  Some  of 
the  species  are  powerfully  sudorific  and  diaphoretic,  and  re- 
markable for  their  power  in  exciting  salivation.     Some  furnish 


XXXV.  THE  PRICKLY  ASH.  509 

remedies  to  fever ;  others  are  used  in  dyeing  yellow ;  and  the 
wood  of  such  as  grow  large  enough  is  valuable  for  hardness 
and  beauty.  It  contains  trees  or  shrubs,  having  usually  prickles 
on  the  branches  and  on  the  leaf-stems  and  the  mid-rib  of  the 
leaflets.  The  leaves  have  from  3  to  13  leaflets.  The  flowers 
are  small,  and  greenish  or  whitish ;  the  petals  longer  than  the 
sepals  or  wanting ;  stamens  in  the  sterile  flowers  long,  in  the 
fertile,  scale-like ;  ovaries  1  to  5,  distinct ;  seed-vessels  crusta- 
ceous  when  mature,  with  or  without  a  stalk,  2-valved,  1-  or  2- 
seeded. 

The  Prickly  Ash.      X.  Americanum.      Miller. 
Figured  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  Vol.  Ill,  Plate  59. 

When  growing  by  itself,  this  is  a  low,  much-branched,  round- 
headed  shrub  or  small  tree,  with  an  erect  stem  covered  with  a 
rather  smooth,  light  gray,  or,  on  the  old  stems,  dark  gray  bark. 
The  recent  shoots  are  brown,  with  a  pulverulent  surface.  The 
buds  are  low,  broad  and  round,  of  a  crimson  brown,  with  2 
short,  sharp-pointed,  stipular  prickles  or  thorns  just  beneath.  The 
leaves  are  made  up  of  from  3  to  13  nearly  sessile,  ovate-oblong, 
acute,  almost  entire  leaflets,  somewhat  downy  beneath,  and 
oftentimes  armed  with  prickles,  which  are  mostly  near  the 
base  of  the  leaflets.  The  flowers  expand  in  April  or  May,  be- 
fore the  leaves,  in  short  umbels,  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves. 
Each  fertile  flower  has  from  3  to  5  ovaries  on  short  stalks, 
which,  when  mature,  become  so  many  2-valved  capsules,  each 
containing  a  shining,  blackish  seed.  The  valves  are  covered 
with  a  pitted,  brown  or  reddish  rind,  fragrant,  when  rubbed, 
with  an  agreeable,  lemon-like,  aromatic  odor.  The  bark  is  bit- 
ter and  pungent,  and  has  been  much  used,  in  tincture,  or  in 
powder,  in  rheumatic  affections.  The  wood  is  of  a  yellow 
color,  whence  Mr.  Colden  gave  it  the  name  Xanthoxylum, 
which  signifies  yelloiv  wood. 

I  have  found  it  growing  in  only  one  place,  on  a  southern  slope 
in  Medford.  It  is  there  very  abundant,  growing  single,  or  in 
little  clumps  or  thickets,  to  the  height  of  four  or  five  feet. 
When  cultivated,  it  is  sometimes  twenty  feet  high. 


510        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


FAMILY  XXXVI.    THE  LINDEN  FAMILY.    TILIA'CEM.   Jussieu. 

More  than  thirty  genera  belong  to  this  family,  including  as 
many  as  two  hundred  species,  of  which  five  sixths  are  found 
within  the  tropics.  More  than  twenty  of  the  genera  contain 
trees  or  large  shrubs,  but  a  great  portion  of  the  species  are  un- 
important plants  with  pretty,  sometimes  beautiful,  pink  or  white 
flowers.  All  have  a  mucilaginous,  wholesome  juice ;  the  berries 
of  some  are  eatable ;  all  are  remarkable  for  the  toughness  of  the 
fibres  of  the  inner  bark.  The  wood  is  generally  very  light  and 
soft,  but  applicable  to  important  uses.  They  have  alternate 
leaves  with  deciduous  stipules;  and  axillary  flowers  with  a 
calyx  of  4  or  5  sepals,  a  corolla  of  4  or  5  petals,  with  glands  or 
scales  at  base,  and  numerous  distinct  stamens ;  the  ovary  of  2 
to  10  united  seed-vessels,  with  styles  united  and  stigmas  dis- 
tinct. The  fruit  is  dry,  or,  very  rarely,  like  a  drupe,  or  berry, 
with  usually  several  cells,  sometimes  a  single  cell,  containing 
one  or  more  seeds. 

The  only  genus  of  this  family  belonging  to  Massachusetts  is 

THE  LINDEN  OR  LIME  TREE.     TI'LIA.     L. 

This  includes  nine  or  ten  species  of  trees  with  heart-shaped 
leaves,  and  a  tough,  fibrous  bark,  with  cymose  flowers,  the 
stalk  of  which  is  attached  to  a  large,  colored,  leaf-like  bract. 
The  flowers  have  5  sepals,  5  petals,  and  numerous  stamens  in  5 
parcels,  the  central  one  in  each  parcel  usually  transformed  into  a 
petal-like  scale.  The  ovary  is  sessile,  globose,  villous,  5-celled ; 
the  cells  with  2  ovules.  The  fruit  is  coriaceous,  paper-like,  or 
woody,  nearly  round,  1-cellcd,  1-  or  2-seeded. 

The  species  are  found  in  the  temperate  regions  of  America, 
Europe  and  contiguous  Asia ;  and,  for  the  beauty  of  the  broad, 
umbrageous  head,  the  toughness  and  pliability  of  the  fibres  of 
the  inner  bark,  the  adaptedness  of  the  soft  wood  to  the  uses  of 
the  sculptor,  and  the  sweet  fragrance  of  the  flowers,  these  trees 
have  long  been  familiar  favorites  with  the  inhabitants  of  those 
regions. 


XXXVI.  THE  LINDEN  TREE.  511 

There  are  several  species  in  Europe,  by  some  writers  consid- 
ered as  varieties  of  a  single  species,  of  which  individuals  are 
among  the  most  remarkable  trees  in  that  region  for  age  and  size. 
One  of  unknown  age,  which  has  given  its  name  to  an  ancient 
town  in  Wirtemberg,  has  a  circumference  of  54  feet,  and  branches 
extending  in  every  direction  100  feet,  and  sustained  by  108 
wooden  and  stone  pillars.  A  lime  tree  in  Berkshire,  England, 
known  to  be  more  than  200  years  old,  has  a  diameter  of  22  feet 
10  inches  at  1  foot  from  the  ground. 

The  honey  made  by  bees  feeding  on  the  flowers  of  the  Euro- 
pean lime  tree,  is  very  excellent.  An  infusion  of  the  flowers 
has  long  held,  and  deservedly,  wide  reputation  as  an  anti-spas- 
modic medicine.  The  sap  yields  a  considerable  proportion  of 
sugar,  and  is  made,  by  fermentation,  into  an  agreeable  vinous 
liquor.  A  substance  like  chocolate  has  been  made  of  the  ripe 
fruit,  but  has  the  inconvenience  of  not  continuing  sweet.  The 
wood  was  used  by  the  ancients,  according  to  Pliny,  for  buck- 
lers, on  account  of  its  flexibility,  lightness,  and  resiliency ;  and 
the  bark,  to  cover  cottages,  and  form  baskets ;  and  the  inner  bark 
was  employed,  under  the  name  Phily>a,  to  write  on,  and  also, 
as  in  modern  times,  as  a  material  for  mats.  The  European 
Lime  tree  has  been  long  cultivated  in  this  country,  and  is  per- 
fectly adapted  to  our  climate. 

Only  one  species  is  found  growing  naturally  in  New  England ; 
three  others  occur  in  the  Western  and  Southern  States ;  which 
do  not  remarkably  differ  from  ours.  A  beautiful  variety  of  the 
European  species,  called  the  Golden-twigged,  would  be  a  valu- 
able addition  to  our  ornamental  trees. 

The  Linden  Tree.    Lime  Tree.    Bass  Wood.    T.  Arnericdna.  L. 
Figured  in  Michaux,  Plate  131 ;  and  in  Loudon's  Arboretum,  V,  Plate  24. 

From  a  powerful  root  which  penetrates  deep  or  spreads  wide, 
this  tree  rises  to  a  considerable  height,  with  an  even,  erect,  pil- 
lar-like trunk,  and  many  branches.  When  growing  freely  by 
itself,  it  often  assumes  a  conical  form  of  striking  regularity. 
Standing,  as  it  often  does,  on  the  side  of  a  steep  hill,  with  its 
feet  almost  in  the  water,  it  throws  out  branches  horizontally, 


512       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

with  large,  rich,  thick  masses  of  foliage,  forming  a  beautiful 
and  striking  object  when  seen  from  a  distance. 

The  bark  is  less  rugged  than  that  of  almost  any  other  tree, — 
except  the  beech ; — on  the  young  shoots,  it  is  of  a  dark  brown  or 
brownish-gray  color,  which  gradually  changes,  on  the  larger, 
to  a  light  ash  gray.  The  dark  color  of  the  young  shoots,  by 
which  it  is  readily  distinguished  from  the  European  species, 
has  gained  for  it,  in  England  and  France,  the  common  name  of 
the  Black  Lime  Tree. 

The  leaves  are  roundish  in  their  outline,  heart-shaped  or 
obliquely  truncate  at  base,  inequilateral, — the  side  nearest  the 
branch  the  largest, — acuminate,  serrated  with  sharply  acuminate 
serratures,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  with  minute  tufts  of  russet 
down  at  the  axils  of  the  nerves  and  veins  beneath ;  of  a  deep 
green  above,  paler  beneath,  of  soft,  membranaceous  texture,  four 
or  five  inches  long  and  equally  wide.  In  autumn,  they  turn  to 
a  lemon  yellow  color.  The  leaf-stalk  is  half  the  length  of  the 
leaf,  and  smooth.  Flower-stalk  as  long  as  the  leaf,  smooth, 
twice  or  thrice  trichotomous  at  the  end,  rising  from  the  upper 
axil  of  the  leaf,  pendulous,  attached,  for  half  its  length,  to  an 
oblong,  membranous,  ribbon-like,  pale-straw-colored  bract,  as 
long  as  itself.  The  flowers,  which  are  from  9  to  27,  are  yellow- 
ish-white and  very  fragrant.  The  fruit  is  a  woody  or  bony, 
pubescent,  roundish,  gray  nut,  one  fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
containing  one  seed.  It  flowers  in  July  and  August,  and  ripens 
its  fruit  in  October. 

The  wood  of  the  lime  tree  is  soft  and  white,  and  of  a  fine, 
close  grain.  It  is  softer  and  more  tough  and  pliable  than  almost 
any  other  wood,  and  is  much  used  for  the  panels  of  carriages 
and  wagons.  It  is  also  used  by  cabinetmakers  for  the  bottom 
and  sides  of  drawers,  and  for  similar  purposes.  Where  pine  is 
scarce,  bass  wood  boards  are  used  as  a  substitute,  by  house-car- 
penters, for  interior  finishing.  For  certain  purposes,  it  is  prefer- 
able to  pine,  on  account  of  its  very  great  toughness  and  pliability. 
It  is,  therefore,  much  used  by  stair-builders  for  the  curved  ends 
of  stairs.  It  is  well  adapted  to  carving  and  turning.  Small  boxes 
and  wooden  bowls  are  sometimes  turned  of  it,  and,  on  the  Ohio 
River,  Michaux  says  it  was  formerly  employed  as  the  material 


XXXVI.  THE  LINDEN  TREE.  513 

from  which  the  figure-heads  for  prows  of  vessels  were  carved. 
It  forms  a  better  charcoal  than  most  of  the  soft  woods.  The 
charcoal  made  from  the  European  lime  tree,  which  ours  very  much 
resembles,  is  said  to  be  preferred  even  to  that  of  the  alder,  in 
the  manufacture  of  gunpowder.  In  some  parts  of  the  country, 
the  bark  is  separated,  by  maceration,  into  fibres,  from  which  a 
coarse  cordage  is  made.  In  Russia,  mats  are  manufactured  from 
the  inner  bark  of  the  European  tree,  similarly  prepared,  divided 
into  narrow  strips  and  dried  in  the  shade.  These  are  often  im- 
ported into  this  country  and  used  for  binding  packages,  and  by  gar- 
deners for  confining  plants,  or  for  tying  bundles.  In  Sweden,  the 
fibres  of  the  bark  serve  for  fishing  nets ;  in  Carniola,  they  are  con- 
verted into  a  rude  cloth  which  serves  the  shepherds  for  clothing. 

The  flowers  of  the  lime  tree  are  remarkable  for  their  agree- 
able fragrance,  which  is  often  perceptible  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. They  are  the  favorite  resort  of  bees,  which  travel  some 
miles  through  the  woods  to  reach  them,  by  paths  which  seem 
to  be  as  well  known  and  as  constantly  traversed,  as  the  more 
visible  ones  on  the  ground  below.  Invisible  as  they  are,  the 
travellers  upon  them  are  sometimes  waylaid  by  the  bee-hunters. 
The  lime  forests  of  Lithuania  have  a  similar  attraction  for  the 
bees  of  that  country,  which  extract  thence  a  honey  said  to  be 
preferred  to  every  other,  and  to  command  a  three-fold  price. 

As  an  ornamental  tree,  the  lime  is  to  be  recommended  where 
the  object  is  to  obtain  a  great  mass  of  foliage  and  a  deep  shade. 
No  other  native  tree  surpasses  it  in  the  abundance  of  its  foliage. 
The  appearance  of  the  tree  in  winter  shows  the  reason.  The 
branches  divide  and  sub-divide  into  very  numerous  ramifications, 
on  which  the  spray  is  small,  thick,  and  set  at  a  large  angle. 
This  becomes  profusely  clothed  with  leaves,  which  are  large 
and  of  a  deep  green.  It  also  has  the  advantage  of  being  easily 
transplanted  and  of  growing  readily  on  almost  every  kind  of 
soil,  though  it  flourishes  best  on  a  rich,  rather  moist,  loam. 
These  qualities  adapt  it  admirably  for  being  used  as  a  screen, 
or  as  a  shelter  to  protect  more  tender  trees  against  the  wind. 
It  might,  therefore,  be  planted  to  supply  the  place  of  the  native 
forests,  in  situations  where  fruit  trees  are  suffering  from  being 
deprived  of  this  protection.  Its  growth  is  very  rapid,  it  bears 
66 


514        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

pruning  almost  to  any  extent,  and  may  be  trained  to  grow  as 
tall  or  as  low  and  bushy  as  may  be  required. 

It  may  be  propagated  by  layers,  by  shoots,  or  by  seed.  The 
following  method  is  recommended  by  Hunter,  the  editor  of  Eve- 
lyn, as  successful  in  raising  from  seed  : — "  The  seeds  being  ripe 
in  October,  let  a  dry  day  be  made  choice  of  for  gathering  them. 
As  these  grow  at  the  extremity  of  the  branches,  it  would  be 
tedious  to  gather  them  with  the  hand ;  they  may,  therefore,  be 
beaten  down  by  a  long  pole,  having  a  large  winnowing  sheet, 
or  some  such  thing,  spread  under  the  tree  to  receive  them. 
When  you  have  got  a  sufficient  quantity,  spread  them  in  a  dry 
place  for  a  few  days;  then  having  procured  a  spot  of  rich  gar- 
den ground,  and  having  the  mould  made  fine  by  digging  and 
raking,  let  it  be  raked  out  of  the  beds  about  an  inch  deep. 
These  beds  may  be  four  feet  wide,  and  the  alleys  a  foot  and  a 
half.  After  the  mould  is  raked  out,  the  earth  should  be  gently 
tapped  down  with  the  back  of  the  spade,  to  make  it  level ;  then 
the  seeds  should  be  sown,  at  about  an  inch  asunder,  all  over  the 
bed,  gently  pressing  them  down,  and  covering  them  about  an 
inch  deep.  In  the  spring  of  the  year,  the  young  plants  will 
make  their  appearance ;  when  they  should  be  constantly  kept 
clean  from  weeds,  and  gently  watered  in  very  dry  weather.  In 
this  seminary,  they  may  stand  for  two  years,  when  they  will  be 
fit  to  plant  in  the  nursery ;  at  which  time  they  should  be  care- 
fully taken  up,  their  roots  shortened,  and  the  young  side-branches, 
if  they  have  shot  out  any,  taken  off.  They  must  be  planted  in 
the  nursery  ground  in  rows,  two  feet  and  a  half  asunder,  and 
one  foot  and  a  half  distant  in  the  rows.  There  they  may  stand 
till  they  are  of  proper  size  to  be  planted  out  for  good ;  observing 
always  to  dig  between  the  rows  every  winter,  and  constantly  to 
keep  the  ground  free  from  weeds." 

As  plants  raised  from  seed  are  of  comparatively  slow  growth, 
the  French  gardeners,  according  to  Du  Hamel,  employ  the  fol- 
lowing mode  of  propagation,  which  may  be  easily  practised  in 
our  native  forests,  where  this  tree  is  remarkable  for  the  abund- 
ant shoots  from  the  stumps.  They  cut  an  old  tree  close  to  the 
ground,  which  soon  sends  up  a  multitude  of  shoots.  "  Among 
these,  they  throw  a  quantity  of  soil  which  they  allow  to  remain 


XXXVII.  THE  ROCK  ROSE  FAMILY.  515 

two  or  three  years,  after  which  they  find  the  shoots  well  rooted, 
and  of  a  sufficient  height  and  strength  to  be  planted  at  once 
where  they  are  finally  to  remain."  This  mode  is  also  practised 
with  the  elm. 

Hunter  gives  the  following  directions  for  forming  layers  from 
shoots  of  the  American  lime  : — "When  the  layering  of  these  is 
to  be  performed,  which  ought  to  be  in  the  autumn,  the  strong 
two  years'  shoots  must  be  brought  down ;  and  if  they  are  stiff 
and  do  not  bend  readily,  they  must  have  a  gentle  splash  with 
the  knife  near  the  bottom  ;  a  slit  should  be  made  at  the  joint  for 
every  one  of  the  youngest  twigs,  and  their  ends  bent  backwards 
that  the  slit  may  be  kept  open.  This  being  done,  the  mould 
must  be  levelled  among  the  layers,  and  the  ends  of  them  taken 
off  to  within  one  eye  of  the  ground.  The  business  is  then  done ; 
and  the  autumn  following  they  will  have  all  good  roots,  many 
of  which  will  be  strong,  and  fit  to  plant  out  for  good,  whilst  the 
weakest  may  be  removed  into  the  nursery  ground,  in  rows,  to 
gain  strength." 

The  lime  tree  is  found  from  Canada  to  Georgia ;  most  abun- 
dantly on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Ontario.  I  have 
observed  it,  in  almost  every  part  of  this  State,  sometimes  grow- 
ing vigorously  even  in  the  most  sandy  and  exposed  situations. 
It  appears  to  be  very  little  affected  by  the  sea-breeze,  and  might, 
probably,  without  much  difficulty,  be  made  to  grow  on  Nan- 
tucket and  amongst  the  sands  of  Cape  Cod. 

I  cannot  give  the  dimensions  of  many  large  trees  of  this  kind. 
Mr.  Austin  Bacon,  of  Natick,  has  favored  me  with  the  account 
of  one  of  a  size  somewhat  remarkable.  It  is  16  feet  6  inches  in 
circumference  at  the  ground,  and  13  feet  4  inches  at  4  feet. 
Near  by  is  another  of  almost  equal  dimensions. 


FAMILY  XXXVII.    THE  ROCK  ROSE  FAMILY.     CISTA'CEJS. 

JUSSIEU. 

This  family  is  of  interest  to  florists  and  gardeners  for  the 
great  beauty,    variety  and    elegance  of  its  flowers.      It  con- 


516        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

tains  herbs  or  low  shrubs,  with  simple,  usually  entire  leaves, 
generally  opposite, — in  a  single  genus  partly  alternate, — and 
with  or  without  stipules.  The  flowers  are  perfect;  yellow, 
white,  rose-colored,  or  red ;  transient,  usually  lasting,  except  in 
Hudsonia,  but  a  day,  often  but  an  hour.  The  calyx  is  of  5, 
persistent  sepals,  the  2  outer  usually  much  smaller,  sometimes 
bract-like,  sometimes  wanting,  the  3  inner  imbricated  and  some- 
what twisted  before  opening.  The  corolla  has  5  petals, — rarely 
3, — sometimes  none, — crumpled  before  opening,  and  twisted  in 
a  direction  opposite  to  that  of  the  sepals.  The  stamens  are 
numerous  and  distinct,  with  short  anthers.  The  ovary  is  made 
of  3  to  5  united  vessels,  surmounted  by  a  single  style  and  1  or 
more  stigmas.  The  fruit  is  a  many-seeded  capsule,  with  from 
3  to  5  valves,  with  imperfect  divisions  at  the  middle  of  the 
valves,  bearing  near  the  central  line  the  seeds,  which  are  smooth 
and  angular,  with  a  curved  or  spiral  embryo  in  the  midst  of 
mealy  albumen.  The  properties  are  not  known,  except  in  cer- 
tain species,  which  exude  an  odoriferous,  balsamic  resin,  called 
labdanum  or  ladanum. 

The  CistdcecB  are  mostly  confined  to  the  temperate  regions  of 
the  northern  hemisphere,  and  abound  especially  in  the  comitries 
bordering  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  A  few  species  are  found 
in  Mexico  and  the  United  States.  The  genera  found  here  are 
Helianthemum,  Lechea,  and  Hudsonia. 

XXXVII.     1.     THE   SUN   ROSE.     HELIA'NTHEMUM. 

Tournefort. 

This  genus  contains  a  large  number  of  beautiful  species,  much 
cultivated,  delighting  in  dry  and  sunny  situations,  and  therefore 
chosen,  together  with  the  Rock  Rose,  Cistas,  to  ornament  rock- 
work,  and  plots  in  dry,  sandy  soils.  The  2  exterior  sepals  are 
very  small  and  bract-like,  or  wanting.  The  petals  are  5,  rarely 
3,  sometimes  none ;  the  stigmas  3,  large,  fringed,  more  or  less 
united  into  one.  The  capsule  is  triangular,  3-valved,  with  few 
or  many  seeds  attached  to  central  threads  or  on  imperfect  divi- 
sions projecting  into  the  cell. 


XXXVII.     2.  PIN-WEED.  517 

The  Canada  Sun-Rose.     H.  Canadensc.     Michaux. 
Figured  in  Sweet's  Cistacea,  Plate  21. 

Flowers  of  two  kinds;  the  primary  or  terminal,  large  and 
petaliferous  flowers  few  or  solitary,  on  peduncles  scarcely  longer 
than  the  flower,  the  petals  about  twice  the  length  of  the  calyx ; 
secondary  flowers  axillary,  very  small,  nearly  sessile,  solitary 
or  somewhat  clustered,  on  short,  leafy  branches,  the  petals  very 
small  or  none,  and  the  outer  sepals  usually  wanting;  leaves 
oblong  or  somewhat  lanceolate,  with  revolute  margins,  and,  as 
well  as  the  sepals,  and  often  the  branches  and  peduncles,  canes- 
cently  tomentose. —  T.  Sf  G.,  Flora,  I,  151. 

An  erect,  downy  plant,  about  a  foot  high,  found  in  dry,  sandy 
places,  among  rocks,  and  remarkable  for  its  flowers  of  two 
kinds.  The  earliest,  which  appear  in  May  and  June,  are  ter- 
minal or  lateral,  solitary,  and  look  like  a  miniature  yellow  rose, 
with  3  or  5  wedge-shaped  petals,  and  many  stamens  inclined 
to  one  side ;  the  2  exterior  sepals  are  linear,  the  3  interior  broad- 
oval,  pointed,  concave,  downy  without.  The  individual  flowers 
are  fugacious,  but  succeed  each  other  from  day  to  day.  The 
later  flowers  as  above  described. 

There  are  two  marked  varieties  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bos- 
ton : — The  one  is  smoothish  below,  with  hair  in  scattered  tufts, 
stem  very  slender,  leaves  rather  rigid  and  smooth  above ;  flowers 
solitary,  in  the  angle  of  the  upper  leaves,  appearing  in  May  and 
June :  H.  Canadinse  of  Pursh. 

On  the  other,  the  hairs  are  short,  densely  tufted,  the  stem 
short,  leaves  downy  or  dusty  on  both  surfaces ;  flowers  in  ter- 
minal corymbs,  succeeding  each  other  in  June  and  July:  H. 
ramuliflorunij  Pursh ') 

XXXVII.     2.     PIN-WEED.     LECHE^A.     L. 

An  American  genus  of  a  few  species  of  perennial,  much- 
branched  herbs  with  woody  roots,  and  small,  brownish-purple 
flowers  in  racemes  or  panicles ;  and  entire,  alternate,  opposite  or 
whorled  leaves,  without  stipules.  The  sepals  seem  to  be  3,  the 
2  exterior  being  very  narrow  and  bract-like ;   the  petals  are  3, 


518        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

small  and  narrow ;  stamens  usually  3,  sometimes  more ;  capsule 
incompletely  3-celled,  3-valved,  with  3  other  apparent  valves 
within,  1-  or  2-seeded.  Found  on  dry,  rocky  hills,  and  sunny 
fields. 

Sp.  1.     Large  Pin-Weed.     L.  major.     Michaux. 

A  stiff,  hairy  plant,  with  a  purple,  brittle,  erect  stem,  one  or 
two  feet  high.  The  leaves  are  refiexed  at  the  margin,  downy, 
whitish  beneath.  The  lower  branches  spread  on  the  ground  in 
tufts,  with  small,  roundish  leaves.  The  stem  has  longer  and 
more  pointed  leaves ;  the  upper  branches,  lanceolate  leaves ;  the 
flowers  are  small  and  very  numerous,  densely  crowded  on  the 
sides  of  the  upper  branches,  and  succeeded  by  3-sided,  roundish 
capsules,  about  the  size  of  a  large  pin's  head. 

Sp.  2.     Thyme-leaved  Pin-Weed.     L.  thymifblia.     Pursh. 

A  plant  about  a  foot  high,  with  a  stout,  erect  stem,  and  nu- 
merous, somewhat  whorled  branches,  forming  a  small  pyramidal 
head,  with  sharp,  straight,  narrow  leaves,  the  whole  covered 
with  whitish  wool.  It  is  intermediate  between  the  last  species 
and  the  next.     It  is  found  in  sand  on  the  sea-coast. 

Sp.  3.     Small  Pin-Weed.     L.  minor.     Lamarck. 

A  plant  smaller  than  the  two  preceding  species,  resembling 
them  strongly,  but  distinguished  by  being  less  hairy,  by  having 
its  flowers  and  capsules  larger,  and  by  having  a  somewhat  more 
slender  and  delicate  appearance.  The  capsules  are  nearly  glob- 
ular, about  the  size  of  a  grain  of  mustard. 

XXXVII.     3.     THE  HUDSONIA.     HUDSO^NIA.     L. 

An  anomalous  American  genus  of  three  species  of  excessively 
branched,  woody,  tufted,  heath-like  under-shrubs,  with  small, 
stiff,  sessile,  awl-shaped  or  needle-shaped,  densely  imbricated, 
persistent,  downy  leaves,  without  stipules;  and  small  yellow 
flowers  with  reddish  calyx,  on  the  ends  of  very  short  branches. 
Sepals  5,  united  at  base,  the  2  outer  ones  awl-shaped  and  mi- 
nute, the  3  inner  oblong,  expanded  at  flowering,  forming  a  tube 


XXXVII.     3.  THE  HUDSONIA.  519 

in  fruit.    Petals,  5.     Stamens  9  to  30.    Capsule  oblong-obovate, 
slightly  3-sided,  1-celled,  3-valved,  usually  3-seeded. 

Sp.  1.     The  Downy  Hudsonia.     H.  tornentbsa.     Nuttall. 
Figured  in  Sweet's  Cistaceae,  Plate  57. 

A  creeping,  under- ground  stem  extending  to  no  great  distance, 
and  throwing  out  many  long,  tapering  roots,  branching  with 
thread-like  fibrils.  The  stem  rises  a  few  inches  from  the  ground, 
erect  or  bending  downwards,  and  throwing  out  innumerable 
short  branches,  thickly  clothed  with  a  sad,  whitish  or  glaucous 
down,  and  close  set  leaves  of  the  same  color.  Leaves  very 
short,  lanceolate,  pointed,  imbricate,  and  closely  embracing  the 
stem, — covered  with  down  of  a  whitish  color,  through  which  the 
greener  surface  indistinctly  appears. 

Among  these  appear  in  May,  yellow  flowers,  on  very  short, 
slender  stalks,  at  the  ends  of  the  little  branches  near  the  extre- 
mity of  the  stem.  The  sepals  look  like  the  continuation  of  the 
leaves,  being  covered  with  down  without,  but  yellow  or  reddish 
within.  The  petals  are  yellow.  Stamens  from  9  to  18,  with 
roundish  anthers.     It  flowers  from  May  to  July. 

In  some  places  near  the  coast,  in  Essex  County,  this  plant 
covers  the  sand,  where  scarcely  any  other  would  vegetate. 

Sp.  2.     The  Heath-like  Hudsonia.     H.  ericoides.     L. 
Figured  in  Sweet's  Cistaceas,  Plate  36. 

This  is  much  less  downy  than  the  last,  and  the  slender,  awl- 
like leaves,  three  or  four  lines  long,  spread  a  little,  and  are  cov- 
ered with  longer  and  thinner  hairs.  It  is  from  six  to  twelve 
inches  high.  The  old,  persistent  leaves  give  the  stem  a  brown 
color.  The  flowers  are  like  those  of  the  last  species,  and  have 
from  9  to  15  stamens. 

It  is  found  in  Martha's  Vineyard  and  on  Nantucket,  flowering 
in  Mav  and  after. 


520        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


FAMILY   XXXVIII.     THE  BARBERRY   FAMILY.     BERBER1DA"- 

CEJE.     R.  Brown. 

A  family  containing  eleven  or  twelve  genera  of  herbs  or  shrubs 
of  very  various  appearance  and  character,  frequently  thorny, 
with  alternate,  petiolate,  pinnate  or  simple  leaves,  often  with 
spiny  or  pointed  serratures,  with  yellow,  white  or  red  flowers ; 
mostly  natives  of  mountainous  places  in  the  temperate  parts  of 
the  northern  and  southern  hemispheres,  and  of  the  mountains 
of  tropical  America.  The  sepals  are  deciduous,  from  3  or  4  to 
9,  in  1,  2,  3  or  4  series,  often  colored;  the  petals  as  many  as  the 
sepals  and  opposite  them,  or  twice  as  many,  frequently  glandu- 
lar or  appendaged  at  base  within ;  stamens  as  many  as  the  petals 
and  opposite  them  or  twice  as  many,  with  their  anthers  opening 
with  recurved  valves,  that  is,  each  lobe  of  the  anther  opening  at 
the  edge  throughout,  except  at  the  upper  point,  where  it  remains 
attached  and  rises  to  allow  the  pollen  to  escape ;  filaments 
often  irritable.  The  ovary  is  solitary,  1-celled.  Berry  or  cap- 
sule 1-celled,  1-  or  few-seeded. 

The  berries  of  some  of  the  species  abound  in  an  agreeable 
oxalic  acid ;  the  bark  of  the  same  is  bitter  and  astringent.  Others 
have  purgative  properties. 

THE  BARBERRY.     BERBERIS.     L. 

A  genus  of  about  forty  species  of  shrubs,  belonging  to  the  tem- 
perate regions  of  both  hemispheres,  or  to  high  mountains  within 
the  tropics ;  either  with  the  primary  leaves  wanting  or  changed 
into  single  or  compound  spines  in  the  axil  of  which  the  second- 
ary leaves,  formed  by  the  developement  of  the  leaf-buds  and 
simple,  are  in  rosettes  or  tufts ;  or  with  the  primary  leaves  de- 
veloped and  pinnate ;  often  with  minute  stipules ;  flowers  yellow, 
with  irritable  filaments.  The  sepals  are  9,  in  3  series,  the  3 
exterior,  small,  bract-like ;  the  petals  6,  with  2  glands  at  the 
base ;  stamens  6 ;  stigma  orbicular,  nearly  sessile ;  fruit  a  1-  to 
9-seeded  berry  with  erect  seeds.  The  wood  of  the  root  and  the 
inner  bark  of  the  stem  are  of  a  bright  yellow,  and  abound  in 


XXXVIII.         THE  COMMON  BARBERRY.  521 

yellow  coloring  matter.  The  fruit,  leaves  and  young  shoots 
contain  a  great  deal  of  oxalic  acid  ;  the  bark  of  the  root  is  bitter 
and  astringent. 

Many  of  the  species  are  cultivated  in  the  gardens  of  Europe 
for  the  beauty  of  their  flowers  and  foliage.  Of  these  the  most 
valuable  are  the  Chinese,  the  Emarginate-leaved,  the  Nepaul, 
and  two  beautiful  evergreen  species,  with  compound  leaves,  na- 
tives of  Oregon,  and  brought  thence  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  which 
would  doubtless  flourish  in  our  climate.  These  were  separated 
from  the  barberry,  by  Nuttall,  under  the  name  of  Mahbnia.  A 
third,  more  beautiful  than  all,  comes  from  the  mountains  of 
California. 

All  the  species  throw  up  numerous  suckers,  by  means  of  which 
they  may  be  readily  propagated,  as  they  may  also  by  seed. 

The  Common  Barberry.     B.  vulgaris.     L. 
Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  II,  Plate  188. 

Every  one,  who  is  an  observer  of  nature,  must  have  been 
struck,  in  June,  with  the  beauty  of  the  arching  upper  shoots  of 
the  barberry,  springing  from  a  mass  of  rich  green,  and  sustain- 
ing numerous,  pendent  racemes  of  splendid  yellow  flowers.  It 
is  hardly  less  attractive  when  its  blossoms  have  been  succeeded 
by  clusters  of  scarlet  fruit. 

The  barberry  is  a  bush  of  usually  four  or  five,  but  often  seven 
or  eight  feet  in  height,  and  two  or  three  inches  in  diameter,  with 
a  whitish  or  light-gray,  shining  bark  on  the  recent  shoots,  and 
a  much  darker  gray  on  the  old  stems.  The  principal  stem  is 
upright  and  very  much  branched  towards  the  top.  It  is  armed 
with  single  or  sometimes  triple  spines,  in  the  axil  of  many  of 
which,  at  intervals  of  an  inch  or  more,  are  tufts  of  leaves,  from 
the  centre  of  some  of  which  issues  a  raceme  of  flowers.  The 
leaves  are  inversely  ovate,  with  numerous,  bristly,  soft  serra- 
tures.  It  flowers  in  May  and  June,  and  the  scarlet  berries  ripen 
in  autumn,  but  often  remain  on  the  plant  through  the  winter. 
The  roots  are  very  long  and  crooked,  and  covered  with  a 
wrinkled  bark  ;  the  wood  within  is  of  a  bright  orange  or  yellow, 
and  very  soft.  The  wood  of  the  stem  is  also  yellow  ;  it  is  hard 
and  brittle,  and  little  used,  in  this  country,  except  in  dyeing 
67 


522       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

yellow.  But  it  is  much  sought  for  by  turners,  on  the  continent 
of  Europe,  on  account  of  its  unusual  and  beautiful  color.  The 
pith  is  white. 

The  barberry  is  found  growing  in  exposed  situations,  on  the 
borders  of  woods  and  along  road-sides,  in  gravelly  soil,  in  many 
parts  of  Massachusetts  and  New  England,  along  the  coast ;  as 
also  in  Canada  and  Newfoundland. 

The  remarkable  irritability  in  the  stamens  of  the  common 
barberry,  as  well  as  in  those  of  some  other  species,  was  first 
noticed  by  Kolreuter.  "  The  stamens,  when  the  filament  is 
touched  on  the  inside  with  the  point  of  a  pin,  or  any  other  hard 
instrument,  bend  forward  towards  the  pistil,  touch  the  stigma 
with  the  anther,  remain  curved  for  a  short  time,  and  then  par- 
tially recover  their  erect  position.  This  is  best  seen  in  warm, 
dry  weather.  After  heavy  rain,  the  phenomenon  can  scarcely 
be  observed,  owing,  in  all  probability,  to  the  springs  of  the  fila- 
ments having  been  already  set  in  motion  by  the  dashing  of  the 
rain  upon  them,  or  to  the  flowers  having  been  forcibly  struck 
against  each  other.  The  cause  of  this  curious  action,  like  that 
of  all  other  vital  phenomena,  is  unknown.  All  that  has  been 
ascertained  concerning  it  is  this,  that  the  irritability  of  the  fila- 
ment is  affected  differently  by  different  noxious  substances.  It 
has  been  found,  by  Messrs.  Macaire  and  Marcet,  that  if  a  ber- 
berry is  poisoned  with  any  corrosive  agent,  such  as  arsenic  or 
corrosive  sublimate,  the  filaments  become  rigid  and  brittle,  and 
lose  their  irritability ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  poisoning 
be  effected  by  any  narcotic,  such  as  prussic  acid,  opium,  or  bel- 
ladonna, the  irritability  is  destroyed  by  the  filaments  becoming 
so  relaxed  and  flaccid,  that  they  can  be  easily  bent  in  any  direc- 
tion. It  is  difficult  to  draw  from  this  curious  fact  any  other 
inference  than  this,  viz.,  that  in  plants,  as  well  as  in  animals, 
there  is  something  analogous  to  a  nervous  principle,  which  is 
more  highly  developed  in  some  plants,  or  in  some  organs,  than 
in  others." — Lindley  in  Loud.  Arb.  300. 

The  barberry  is  found  in  most  parts  of  America  and  Europe. 
In  Poland,  it  is  used  to  tan  leather,  which  it  at  the  same  time 
dyes  a  fine  yellow  color.  The  tannin  principle  is  found  in  the 
bark,  and  the  coloring  matter  both  in  the  bark  and  in  the  wood 


XXXVIII.  THE  COMMON  BARBERRY.  523 

and  bark  of  the  root.     In  this  Commonwealth,  it  is  much  used 
to  give  a  yellow  color  to  leather. 

The  leaves  have  an  agreeable  acidity  and  have  sometimes 
been  used  as  a  substitute  for  sorrel.  The  berries,  which  are  so 
exceedingly  sour  as  to  need  no  protection  against  birds,  are 
sometimes  pickled;  they  are  also  preserved  in  various  ways 
with  sugar,  and  then  are  considered  pleasant  and  wholesome. 
In  some  parts  of  Europe  they  supply  the  place  of  lemon  in  fla- 
voring punch.  Bruised,  they  make  a  refreshing  drink  in  fevers. 
The  bark  has  been  used  for  its  purgative  and  tonic  qualities, — 
and  various  parts  of  the  plant  for  their  great  astringency. 

The  barberry  is  admirably  well  adapted  to  enter  into  the  com- 
position of  a  hedge,  from  the  multitude  of  its  shoots  and  the 
sharpness  of  its  spines.  There  is,  however,  in  this  country  as 
well  as  in  England,  a  prejudice  against  it,  from  the  belief  that 
it  produces  the  blight  in  wheat.  Prof.  Martyn  urges  against 
this  opinion,  the  fact  that  it  abounds  in  the  hedges  in  Saffron 
Walden,  in  Essex,  England,  which  enclose  fields  in  which  wheat 
is  cultivated  constantly  and  with  entire  success.  And  Dr.  Gre- 
ville,  in  his  Scottish  Cryptogamic  Flora,  has  shown  that  the 
mildew  Avhich  attacks  the  barberry,  (JEcxdium  berberidis,)  is 
quite  different  from  the  fungus  which  occasions  mildew  in  wheat, 
which  is  a  kind  of  Uredo,  entirely  remote  in  its  botanical  cha- 
racters from  an  iEcidium. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  the  barberry  propagates  itself 
readily  and  rapidly  by  seed  and  by  the  multitude  of  suckers 
which  it  throws  up.  In  those  parts  of  the  State  in  which  it  has 
been  found  by  experience  that  wheat  is  not  a  profitable  crop, 
there  can  be  no  objection,  on  the  score  of  its  danger,  to  the  use 
of  the  barberry  as  a  hedge.  The  beauty  of  the  plant,  the  rapid- 
ity of  its  growth  when  young,  its  durability, — for  a  stock,  though 
so  easily  established,  lives  very  many  years, — Loudon  says,  one 
or  two  centuries, — the  sharpness  and  great  number  of  its  pric- 
kles, the  closeness  with  which  it  springs  up,  and  the  readiness 
with  which  it  submits  to  the  knife,  are  strong  recommendations. 
On  some  lanes  in  Brookline  and  other  places  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston,  a  natural  hedge  of  barberry,  sweet  briar,  wild  rose  and 
privet  has    formed  a   most  graceful  border  for  the  road-side. 


524       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

This,  which  gives  an  air  of  wildness  and  retirement  perfectly- 
suited  to  the  purpose  for  which  much  of  this  suburb  is  used,  has 
in  several  places  been  made  to  give  place  to  the  stiff,  pudding- 
stone  wall ; — and  the  change  is  called  improvement* 

If  the  suckers  and  lower  branches  are  removed,  and  only  the 
upper  branches  allowed  to  grow,  the  barberry  forms  a  very 
beautiful  little  tree,  and  sometimes  shoots  to  the  height  of  ten 
feet.  At  times  we  find  such  a  tree  by  the  road-sides,  surprising 
us  by  its  gracefulness  and  the  beauty  of  its  bright  yellow  flow- 
ers in  June,-  and  of  its  rich  scarlet  berries  and  its  fading  orange- 
scarlet  leaves  in  autumn. 


FAMILY  XXXIX.     THE  MOONSEED  FAMILY.     MENISPER- 

MAyCEJE.    Jussieu. 

A  family  of  about  one  hundred  species  mostly  of  twining 
shrubs,  belonging  almost  entirely  to  the  torrid  zone ;  with  sim- 
ple, rarely  compound,  palmately  veined  leaves  without  stipules ; 
and  minute  flowers  in  panicles  or  racemes.  Male  and  female 
usually  on  separate  plants ;  sepals  3  to  12,  in  one,  two,  or  three 
rows,  deciduous ;  petals  half  as  many  or  as  many  as  the  sepals 
and  opposite  them,  sometimes  united,  rarely  wanting ;  stamens 
as  many  as  the  petals  and  opposite  them  or  two  to  four  times  as 
many,  distinct  or  united,  anthers  1-,  2-  or  4-celled ;  ovaries  1  or 
more,  1-celled.  The  fruit  is  a  1 -seeded,  lunate  drupe,  contain- 
ing a  bony  nut,  with  the  embryo  usually  curved. 

Many  of  the  species  are  remarkable  for  their  astringent  and 
tonic  properties,  which  render  them  valuable  remedies  in  fever 
and  in  dysentery.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these  is  Co- 
lombo root,  from  the  Cbcculus  palmatus,  a  native  of  Mozam- 
bique. The  seeds  of  other  species  are  narcotic,  like  C.  Indicus, 
used  to  poison  or  intoxicate  fishes ;  while  the  fruits  of  others 
are  eatable. 


XL.  THE  MAGNOLIA  FAMILY.  525 


MOONSEED.     MENISPERMUM.     L. 

Climbing  shrubs  of  North  America  and  Central  Asia,  with 
alternate,  peltate,  or  heart-shaped,  smooth,  entire  leaves,  and 
small,  yellowish  flowers  in  axillary  or  supra-axillary  racemes. 
The  male  flowers  have  4  to  12  sepals  in  two  to  four  rows,  as 
many  petals  or  none,  and  10  to  30  distinct  stamens  with  4-lobed 
anthers ;  the  female  flowers,  somewhat  larger,  4  to  6  sepals  in 
two  rows,  as  many  petals,  and  2  to  4,  1-celled  ovaries.  The 
drupes  are  solitary,  or  in  twos  or  fours. 

Canada  Moonseed.     M.  Canad&nse.     L. 

A  twining  plant,  with  a  smooth,  woody  stem,  eight  to  twelve 
feet  long,  climbing  over  shrubs,  on  the  banks  of  rivers  and  in 
thickets.  The  leaves  are  peltate  or  shield-like,  three  or  four 
inches  long,  and  rather  broader,  with  3  to  5  angular  lobes,  with 
the  leaf-stem,  which  is  one  or  two  inches  long,  inserted  near  the 
base,  bright  green  above,  pale  and  very  strongly  nerved  beneath. 
The  flowers  are  greenish-yellow,  in  small  racemes,  which  come 
out  a  little  above  the  axil  of  a  leaf.  The  fruit  is  a  drupe,  nearly 
black  when  mature,  and  containing  a  lunate  nut. 


FAMILY    XL.      THE  MAGNOLIA  FAMILY.      MAGNOLWCEJE. 

JUSSIEU. 

This  family  comprehends  about  fifty  species  of  trees  and  shrubs, 
among  which  are  many  of  the  most  magnificent  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom.  They  abound  in  tropical  Asia  and  the  warmer  parts 
of  North  America.  This  State  is  their  most  northern  limit. 
Advancing  southward,  they  become  more  numerous,  and  reach 
their  highest  perfection  in  the  Southern  and  Southwestern  States. 
A  few  are  found  in  the  West  Indies  and  in  South  America,  and 
in  Japan,  China,  New  Zealand  and  New  Holland.  Their  leaves 
are  large  and  showy,  alternate,  simple,  coriaceous,  mostly  very 
entire,  dotted  most  frequently  with  pellucid  dots,  and,  before 


526        WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

opening,  protected  by  2  ample,  deciduous  stipules,  convolute  and 
terminating  the  branches  with  a  conical  point,  and  when  fallen, 
leaving  a  lasting  annular  mark.  The  flowers  are  of  extraordi- 
nary size  and  splendor,  and  generally  exhale  a  delicious  fra- 
grance, which  often  acts  powerfully  upon  the  nerves.  Almost 
every  part  of  the  plant,  especially  the  bark  and  the  fruit,  is 
highly  aromatic  and  tonic,  the  bark  containing  a  bitter  principle, 
which  has  often  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  Peruvian  bark,  on 
account  of  its  stimulant,  stomachic,  febrifugal  properties. 

The  flowers  are  distinguished  by  having  a  calyx  of  3  or  6 
sepals,  which  fall  as  they  expand;  a  corolla  of  from  3  to  30 
petals  usually  disposed  in  threes ;  very  numerous  stamens  Avith 
long,  close  anthers  ;  and  1,  a  few,  or,  most  commonly,  very  many 
ovaries  arranged  on  a  central  cone.  The  fruit  consists  of  nu- 
merous 1-  or  2-seeded  vessels,  aggregated  or  grown  together  like 
the  strobile  of  a  pine ;  embryo  minute,  at  the  base  of  fleshy 
albumen. 

Of  this  family,  there  are  two  genera  found  growing  in  Massa- 
chusetts ;  the 

Magnolia,  distinguished  by  its  seed-vessels  opening  to  allow 
the  escape  of  the  seed ;   and 

The  Tulip  Tree,  Lirioddndron,  with  seed-vessels  not  opening ; 
and  with  leaves  truncate  at  the  end. 

XL.     1.     THE  MAGNOLIA.     MAGNOLIA.     L. 

This  genus,  named  for  Magnol,  a  distinguished  botanist  of 
Montpelier,  in  France,  contains  trees,  except  M.  glanca, — which 
in  the  Northern  States  is  only  a  shrub, — all  of  them  beautiful  and 
some  of  them  among  the  finest  and  most  splendid  trees  that  are 
known.  It  is  distinguished  by  having  a  calyx  of  3  caducous 
sepals,  resembling  petals,  and  a  corolla  of  3  to  12  deciduous 
petals.  The  carpels  are  1-  or  2-seeded,  opening  by  the  external 
angle,  and  permanent,  and  forming  a  fruit  like  the  cone  of  a 
pine.  The  seeds  are  like  a  berry,  somewhat  heart-shaped,  and 
hanging  suspended,  when  ripe  and  escaped  from  the  carpel,  by 
a  long,  slender  thread. 

There  is  only  one  species  known  as  naturally  growing  in 


XL.     1.  THE  SMALL  MAGNOLIA.  527 

Massachusetts;  but  several  others,  and  those  among  the  most 
beautiful,  may  be  cultivated. 

The  Cucumber  Tree,  Magnolia  acuminata,  is  found,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Torrey,  in  New  York,  and  may,  probably,  hereafter 
be  found,  scattered  in  favorable  situations,  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State.  It  grows  perfectly  well  at  the  Botanic  Garden,  at 
Cambridge.  Michaux  says  it  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  trees 
in  North  America.  Its  large  flowers,  five  or  six  inches  across, 
are  very  conspicuous,  among  its  ample  foliage,  as  is  its  cylindrical 
fruit,  three  or  four  inches  long,  with  the  scarlet  seeds  depending 
from  it.  But  its  branches  are  long  and  bare,  except  at  the  end, 
and  it  wants  much  of  equalling  in  grace,  fulness  and  beauty,  the 
greater  part  of  our  forest,  trees. 

A  much  more  beautiful  tree,  as  it  grows  here,  for  shape,  foli- 
age and  flowers,  is  the  Long-leaved  Cucumber  Tree,  M.  auric- 
ulata.     It  grows  readily,  but  attains  not  a  great  height. 

The  Three-petalled,  the  Heart-leaved,  the  Yulan  and  the 
Purple  may  also  be  cultivated.  They  are  propagated  by  seed, 
by  layers  or  by  inarching,  and,  while  young,  are  best  preserved 
in  pots. 

The  Small  Magnolia.     Swamp  Laurel.     M.  sciatica.     L. 

Figured  in  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  52 ;  in  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  II, 
Plate  27  ;  and  in  Catesby's  Birds,  Plate  39. 

A  sheltered  swamp  near  Cape  Ann,  not  far  from  the  sea,  is 
thought  to  be  the  most  northern  habitation  of  this  plant,  and 
until  lately  was  supposed  to  be  the  only  one  in  Massachusetts.  It 
has  recently  been  found  at  the  distance  of  some  miles,  in  another 
swamp,  in  the  midst  of  deep  woods  in  Essex.  From  these  situa- 
tions it  will  soon  be  completely  extirpated.  The  fragrant  flowers 
and  even  the  leaves  are  in  such  request,  that  early  in  the  flower- 
ing season,  numbers  of  persons  resort  to  the  swamps  in  quest  of 
them,  and  great  quantities  are  annually  carried  to  Salem  and 
Boston  for  sale.  The  gatherers  of  the  flowers  are  regardless  of 
the  preservation  of  the  trees,  and  in  a  single  season  I  have  noticed 
scores  of  them  broken  down  and  almost  entirely  destroyed. 

Few  ornamental  plants  are  better  worth  the  attention  of  the 
gardener.    Carefully  trained,  it  forms  a  beautiful  little  tree.    The 


528       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

bark  on  the  young  shoots  is  smooth  and  of  a  rich  apple-green, 
becoming  afterwards  of  a  soft  glaucous  or  whitish  color.  Before 
opening,  the  leaves  are  enclosed  by  the  stipules,  which,  fall- 
ing, leave  rings  encircling  the  branch ;  when  young,  the  leaves 
are  covered  with  a  pubescence,  which,  beneath,  has  a  silken 
lustre.  They  are  entire,  elliptical,  or  slightly  obovate,  on  short, 
tapering  petioles,  and,  when  mature,  smooth,  and  light  green 
above,  pale-glaucous  beneath,  and  of  a  soft,  leathery  texture. 
The  mid-rib  is  prominent  beneath,  for  the  whole  length  of  the 
leaf.  The  calyx  of  the  solitary,  terminal  flowers,  consists  of  3 
concave,  obovate,  membranaceous  sepals,  resembling  petals,  but 
less  delicate  in  texture.  The  corolla  has  usually  9  delicately 
white  petals,  tapering  at  base,  and  rounded  at  the  extremity, 
arranged  in  3  circles,  and  mutually  enfolding  each  other  before 
expansion.  The  stamens  are  very  numerous,  SO  to  100  or 
more,  in  spiral  lines  on  the  conical,  green  torus,  or  receptacle, — 
3  or  4  of  the  outer  ones  often  partly  turned  into  petals.  Anthers 
very  long,  yellow,  pointed,  set  upon  the  inner  side  of  the  short 
filament  and  opening  inwardly.  Styles  many,  on  a  conical  re- 
ceptacle ;  stigmas  long,  yellow,  turned  back  at  the  tip,  and  rising 
much  above  the  ends  of  the  long  anthers.  The  fruit  is  a  cone 
about  two  inches  long,  covered  with  scale-like,  imbricated  ova- 
ries, from  which,  when  mature,  escape  the  scarlet,  obovate  seeds, 
which,  instead  of  falling  at  once  to  the  ground,  remain  some 
time  suspended  by  a  slender  thread. 

No  plant  is,  at  every  season  and  in  every  condition,  more 
beautiful.  The  flower,  two  or  three  inches  broad,  is  as  beau- 
tiful and  almost  as  fragrant  as  the  water  lily.  Like  most  other 
plants,  growing  naturally  in  wet  ground,  it  may  easily  be  made 
to  thrive  in  dry,  but  will  not  then  continue  long  in  flower.  In 
moist  situations,  particularly  if  protected  through  the  winter  by 
a  covering  of  boughs  or  mats,  it  continues  to  produce  its  flowers 
to  the  end  of  the  warm  season. 

Like  other  plants  of  this  genus,  the  Small  Magnolia  possesses 
valuable  properties  as  a  tonic  and  as  a  warm  stimulant  and 
diaphoretic ;  and  it  has  been  used  with  great  success  in  chronic 
rheumatism,  in  intermittent  fevers,  and  particularly  in  fever  and 
ague.     To  secure  the  virtues  of  the  plant,  a  tincture  should  be 


XL.     2.  THE  TULIP  TREE.  529 

made  of  the  bark  or  cones,  while  green,  and  before  the  volatile 
parts  have  escaped.* 

The  small  magnolia  may  be  propagated  by  layers,  which  re- 
quire two  years  to  root  sufficiently,  and  by  seed.  The  seed 
should  be  preserved  in  moist  bog  earth,  and  sown  very  early  in 
spring,  in  earth  of  the  same  kind. 

XL.     2.     THE  TULIP  TREE.     L1RIODENDRON. 

A  genus  of  a  single  species,  found  only  in  North  America. 
The  calyx  is  of  3  sepals  which  fall  at  the  same  time  with  the 
petals ;  the  lily-like,  bell-shaped  corolla,  of  6  petals  in  two  rows  ; 
the  stamens  are  very  numerous,  as  are  the  small,  imbricated, 
1-  or  2-seeded,  winged  ovaries  or  seed-vessels. 

The  Tulip  Tree.     L.  tulipifera.     L. 

Figured  in  Catesby's  Birds,  Plate  48  ;  Michaux,  Sylva,  II,  Plate  61 ;  Abbott's 
Insects  of  Georgia,  II,  Plate  102  ;  Bigelow's  Medical  Botany,  Plate  31  ; 
Audubon's  Birds,  I,  Plate  12. 

The  tulip  tree  is  a  tall,  stately,  upright  tree,  with  a  magni- 
ficent, columnar  trimk  and  an  open  head,  rounded  above.  It 
spreads  little  towards  the  root,  but  has  large  limbs,  stretching 
strongly  upwards  and  throwing  out  branches  at  all  angles. 
The  bark  of  the  trunk  is  of  a  dark  ash  color,  with  very  numer- 
ous, small,  superficial  rugosities,  though,  when  seen  at  a  distance, 
it  has  a  somewhat  smoothish  appearance.  The  recent  shoots 
are  of  a  bright  brown,  or  chestnut  color,  smooth,  with  a  gray- 
ish bloom-like  dust  upon  it,  and  distant,  narrow  dots.  The 
older  branches  are  brown,  and  seem  as  if  covered  with  a  trans- 
parent membrane. 

The  terminal  bud  is  formed  by  the  two  stipules  cohering  by 
their  edges, — into  an  oblong,  rounded,  purse-like  sheath.  On 
opening  this,  a  minute  leaf  is  found,  bent  down  and  folded 
together  in  a  single  fold,  by  the  side  of  another,  smaller  sheath. 
When  opening  naturally,  the  stipules  expand  and  protect  the 
leaf  till  it  attains  its  full  size,  when  they  are  an  inch  or  two 
long,  of  a  yellowish-green  color,  oblong,  broader  towards  the 

*  Bigelow,  American  Medical  Botany,  II,  71. 
68 


530       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

end,  rounded,  with  a  minute  point.  They  then  fall,  leaving  a 
slight  annular  scar,  above  the  base  of  the  leaf. 

The  leaves  are  on  long,  angular  footstalks,  very  large  at  base. 
They  are  4-lobed,  the  lobes  ending  in  rounded  or  sharp  points, 
and  separated  by  broad,  shallow  sinuses.  The  terminal  lobes 
end  abruptly,  as  if  the  extremity  of  the  leaf  had  been  cut  off. 
In  large  leaves,  each  of  the  lobes  is  occasionally  divided  into 
2,  and  the  lower  ones  sometimes  into  3  or  more  partial  lobes  or 
large  teeth.  In  some  varieties,  the  points  of  the  lobes  are  obtuse. 
The  leaves  are  smooth,  and  of  a  light  green  above,  glaucous  or 
whitish  beneath,  with  downy  nerves,  and  finely  reticulated 
veins. 

The  large,  solitary  flowers  have  the  shape,  size  and  appear- 
ance of  a  lily.  They  are  contained  in  a  sheath  of  2  triangular 
leaves,  which  are  thrown  off  by  the  expansion  of  the  flower. 
The  sepals  are  of  a  greenish  color,  striate  or  veined  and  dotted, 
sub-coriaceous  in  texture,  concave  and  spreading,  afterwards 
bending  back.  The  petals  are  also  striate  or  veined  and  dotted, 
of  a  greenish-yellow,  somewhat  fleshy  in  texture,  and  marked 
towards  the  base  with  a  crescent-shaped  spot  of  bright  orange. 
In  the  centre  is  a  large,  conical,  pointed  pistil,  surrounded  by 
numerous  stamens  with  long  anthers. 

The  bark  of  the  root  and  branches  of  the  tulip  tree  is  re- 
markable for  its  pungent,  bitter  and  aromatic  taste,  and  agreeably 
aromatic  odor,  and  acts  on  the  system  as  a  stimulating  tonic, 
as  a  diaphoretic  and  as  a  sudorific.  It  has  been  successfully 
employed  in  the  treatment  of  chronic  rheumatism  and  intermit- 
tent fever.  The  useful  properties  are  most  completely  extracted 
by  alcohol.— Big.  Med.  Bot.,  II,  111. 

The  wood  of  the  tulip  tree,  under  the  name  of  white  wood, 
is  extensively  used  in  every  part  of  the  country.  In  the  West- 
ern States,  it  supplies,  in  a  great  degree,  the  deficiency  of  pine, 
and  is  used  by  the  joiner,  as  a  substitute,  in  the  inner  wood  work 
of  houses.  In  New  England,  it  is  preferred  to  other  kinds  of 
wood  in  all  uses  which  require  great  flexibility,  as  about  stairs, 
for  the  wash-board  in  circular  rooms  and  for  the  pannels  of 
carriages;  also  for  the  bottom  of  drawers,  and  for  pannels  in 
common  wardrobes  and  other  small  articles.     It  is  remarkably 


XL.     2.  THE  TULIP  TREE.  531 

white,  soft,  smooth,  fine-grained,  and  is  very  easily  wrought, 
and  bent  to  any  required  shape.  It  comes  into  Massachusetts 
from  New  York,  usually  in  square  cornered  boards  3  feet  wide 
and  12  feet  long. 

Considerable  numbers  of  this  tree  are  found  in  several  towns 
on  Westfield  River,  particularly  in  Russell.  It  is  also  found 
native,  very  rarely,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

The  tulip  tree  is  found  abundantly  in  Canada  West,  and 
the  Western  States,  where  it  sometimes  reaches  the  height  of 
120  or  140  feet  with  a  diameter  of  5  or  6.  In  New  England, 
and  along  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Florida,  it  does  not  reach  these 
ample  dimensions,  but  is  still  a  very  noble  tree.  Michaux 
thinks  that,  next  to  the  buttonwood,  it  attains,  in  favorable  sit- 
uations, in  a  deep,  cool,  moist  soil,  the  largest  size  of  any  tree  in 
the  United  States. 

The  tulip  tree  is  readily  propagated  by  seeds,  which  require 
a  fine,  soft  mould,  and  a  cool  and  shady  situation.  If  sown  in 
autumn,  they  come  up  the  succeeding  spring,  but  if  sown  in 
spring,  they  often  remain  a  year  in  the  ground.  Varieties  are 
propagated  by  layers  or  by  budding  or  grafting.  This  tree,  like 
the  magnolias,  has  few  fibres  on  its  roots,  and  is,  therefore,  not 
readily  transplanted. 


532       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


SECOND    GENERAL    DIVISION. 

CHAPTER  Vm.  MONOCOTYLEDONOUS  PLANTS. 

This  division  is  of  little  comparative  importance  in  extra- 
tropical  regions.  In  this  State,  it  is  represented  by  a  few  families 
of  humble  plants,  among  which  are,  however,  the  grasses  and 
those  which  produce  the  various  kinds  of  corn  and  grain.  The 
noblest  of  monocotyledonous  plants,  the  palms,  are  confined  to 
the  warmer  climates. 

The  stem  of  monocotyledonous  plants  is  not  composed  of  dis- 
tinct pith,  wood  and  bark,  the  two  latter  arranged  in  concentric 
rings  or  zones  and  traversed  by  medullary  rays,  but  of  bundles 
of  vessels  and  woody  fibres  traversing  the  stem  somewhat  irreg- 
ularly from  the  base  of  the  leaves  to  the  roots  or  to  points  near 
the  surface  of  the  stem.  The  leaves  have  ribs  and  veins  nearly 
parallel,  and  are  not  usually  articulated  to  the  stem,  but  con- 
tinuous, so  that,  when  they  wither  and  decay,  they  leave  a  rag- 
ged, indefinite,  partial  stalk,  instead  of  the  well-marked  scar 
left  by  the  fall  of  the  leaf  of  a  dicotyledonous  plant.  The 
parts  of  the  flowers  are  in  threes  or  multiples  of  three.  The 
embryo  of  the  seeds  is  undivided,  and  has  a  single  lobe  or 
cotyledon,  and  a  single  radicle. 

FAMILY  XLI.    THE  SMIL  AX  FAMILY.    SMILA'CEJE.    R.  Brown. 

This  small  family,  the  only  one  containing  monocotyledonous 
plants  which  in  our  climate  have  woody  stems,  includes  plants 
differing  considerably  in  aspect,  habits  and  duration.  To  it 
belong  the  small,  herbaceous  annuals,  Trillium,  Medeola,  Strep- 
topus,  Gonvallaria  and  Uvularia,  and  the  woody,  climbing 
plants  of  the  genus  Smilax.  It  is  found  principally  in  Asia 
and  North  America.  It  is  characterized  by  having  the  calyx 
and  corolla  usually  confounded,  of  six  parts  resembling  petals 
in  being  colored ;  6  stamens ;  style  trifid ;  3  stigmas  or  a  3-parted 
stigma,  and  the  fruit  a  roundish  berry. 


XLI.  THE  GREEN  BRIAR,  533 

The  properties  are  various.  Sarsaparilla,  well  known  for  its 
diuretic,  demulcent  and  diaphoretic  powers,  is  the  root  of  one  or 
several  species  of  Smilax ;  and  other  species  are  known  to  have 
similar  properties.  Dr.  Barton  found  the  same  in  the  root  of 
Medeola  Virginica.  Some  species  of  Trillium,  remarkable  for 
the  three-fold  arrangements  of  its  parts,  its  3  leaves,  3  sepals, 
3  petals,  twice  3  stamens,  3-celled  ovary,  and  3  styles,  have 
nauseous  berries  and  violently  emetic  roots.  The  large  fleshy 
roots  of  China  Smilax  are  eaten  in  the  Celestial  Empire  instead 
of  rice,  and  supposed  by  the  Abbe  Rochon  to  contribute  to  the 
corpulency  of  the  Chinese.  A  reddish  powder  is  obtained  by 
maceration  in  water  from  the  roots  of  the  same  plant,  and,  with 
boiling  water,  forms  a  jelly,  which,  sweetened  with  honey  or 
sugar,  is  used  as  an  article  of  food,  according  to  De  Candolle, 
in  the  southern  parts  of  North  America. 

THE  GREEN  BRIAR.     SMILAX. 

The  different  sexes  on  different  plants.  The  flowers  have  a 
perianth  of  6  parts.  In  the  male  flowers,  the  6  stamens  have 
their  anthers  laterally  attached.  The  fertile  flowers  have  a 
minute  style,  3  stigmas,  and  produce  a  berry  with  3  cells,  and 
1  to  3  seeds  in  each.  They  are  often  climbing,  prickly  plants ; 
sometimes  herbaceous.  The  stem  of  the  leaf  has  a  tendril  on 
each  side.     Flowers  transient  in  axillary  umbels. 

The  genus  contains  nearly  fifty  species,  of  which  fourteen, 
according  to  Nuttall,  belong  to  North  America.  Two  are  found 
in  Massachusetts : 

The  Round-leaved  Green  Briar,  known  by  its  climbing,  round, 
thorny  stem ;  and 

The  Carrion  Flower  or  Herbaceous  Smilax,  known  by  its 
angular,  nodding  stem,  and  the  intolerable  smell  of  its  flowers. 

Sp.  1.    Round-leaved  Smilax.    Green  Briar.    S.  rotundifblia.    L. 

Figured  in  Audubon's  Birds,  I,  Plate  57. 

This  is  a  beautiful  but  very  troublesome  vine,  climbing  with 
a  smooth,  yellowish-green  stem,  from  clump  to  clump,  and 
from  tree  to  tree,  to  the  distance  often  of  thirty  or  forty  feet. 


534       WOODY  PLANTS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  stem  is  woody,  strong,  very  tough,  flexuose,  somewhat 
branched,  and  smooth,  except  where  armed  with  short,  straight, 
rigid  thorns  which  proceed  from  the  wood.  Branches  some- 
what 4-angled.  Leaves  unarmed,  orbicular,  heart-shaped  at 
base,  5-nerved,  ending  in  a  short  point,  paler  and  glaucous 
beneath,  two  or  three  inches  long,  and  of  equal  breadth,  and 
reticulate  in  their  structure.  Footstalks  short,  margined,  with 
a  slender  but  tough  tendril  from  the  extremity  of  the  margin  on 
each  side.  The  flowers,  which  appear  in  June,  are  small,  yel- 
lowish-green, in  roundish  umbels,  on  short  stalks,  from  the  axils 
of  the  leaves.  Berries  small,  bluish-black,  with  a  glaucous 
bloom ;  disagreeable  to  the  taste,  ripening  in  October.  The  root 
is  long  and  tough,  and  thickens  sometimes  into  tubers.  The 
Green  Briar  abounds  in  moist  grounds,  especially  where  the 
trees  have  been  wholly  or  partially  cut  off.  The  leaves  are  of 
a  beautiful  soft  green,  which  in  October  turn  to  a  deep  yellow, 
and  in  November  to  a  rust  color. 

Sp.  2.    Carrion  Flower.    Herbaceous  Smilax.    S.  herbacea.    L. 

A  smooth,  erect  or  leaning,  herbaceous  plant,  from  a  woody, 
perennial  root.  Stem  three  to  eight  feet  long,  smooth,  unarmed, 
somewhat  angled,  often  reddish,  attaching  itself  to  other  plants 
by  its  thread-like  tendrils  ;  simple,  or  with  a  few  small  branches. 
Stem  leaves  two  or  three  inches  long  and  one  or  two  wide, 
heart-shaped  or  somewhat  acute  at  base,  pointed,  entire,  7-  or 
9-nerved,  smooth  above,  downy  on  the  nerves  and  veins  be- 
neath. Leaf-stalk  half  as  long  as  the  leaf,  winged  at  base, 
with  a  slender  tendril  terminating  each  wing.  Branches  few, 
from  the  axils  of  the  stem-leaves,  bearing  a  few  narrower  and 
smaller,  5-nerved  leaves.  Flowers  appear  in  June  and  are  small, 
yellowish-green,  in  small,  round  umbels,  and  of  a  very  offen- 
sive odor.  The  staminate  flowers  are  on  a  short  footstalk  ;  the 
fertile  ones  on  stalks  six  or  eight  inches  long,  and  succeeded  by 
small,  compressed,  dark  blue  berries.  The  odor  of  the  flowers  is 
fugacious  and  does  not  adhere  to  the  dried  specimens. 


EXPLANATION   OF   THE    PLATES. 


Plate  1.  The  White  Oak.  Quercus  alba.  Fig.  1.  A  leaf  and  acorns  of  the 
natural  size.  2.  A  leaf  of  half  the  natural  size.  3.  Male  flow- 
ers and  leaves.  4.  A  single  flower  magnified,  showing  the  6 
stamens,  and  the  parts  of  the  perianth.  5.  Section  of  an  acorn, 
of  the  natural  size,  showing  the  2  large  cotyledons  occupying 
almost  the  whole  cavity  of  the  shell,  and  between  and  above 
them  the  radicle  pointing  towards  the  upper  end  of  the  shell, 
from  which  it  is  destined  to  issue,  showing  that  the  radicle  is 
superior. 

Plate    2.     The  Overcup  White  Oak.     Q.  macrocarpa.     Leaves  and  fruit. 

Plate    3.     The  Rough  Oak  or  Post  Oak.     Q.  stellata.     Leaves  and  fruit. 

Plate    4.     The  Swamp  White  Oak.     Q.  blcolor.     Leaves  and  fruit. 

Plate    5.     The  Chestnut  Oak.      Q.  castanea.     Leaves  and  fruit. 

Plate    6.     The  Rock  Chestnut  Oak.     Q.  montana.     Leaves  and  fruit. 

Plate    7.     The  Black  Oak.     Q.  tinctbria.     Leaves  and  male  flowers. 

Plate    8.     The  Black  Oak.      Q.  tinctbria.     Leaf  and  fruit. 

Plate    9.     The  Scarlet  Oak.      Q.  coccinea.     Leaf,  fruit  and  female  flowers. 

Plate  10.     The  Red  Oak.     Q.  rubra.     Leaf,  fruit  and  female  flowers. 

Plate  11.     The  Bear  Oak.     Q.  ilicifblia.     Leaves,  fruit  and  female  flowers. 

Plate  12.     The  Shellbark  Hickory.    Carya  alba.   Leaf,  fruit  and  male  flowers. 

Plate  13.  The  Mockernut  Hickory.  C.  tomentbsa.  Fruit  and  (a)  male  and 
(b)  female  flowers  of  the  natural  size;  leaf  reduced. 

Plate  14.     The  Pignut  Hickory.      C.  porcina.     Leaf  and  fruit. 

Plate  15.     The  Bitternut  Hickory.     C.  amara.     Leaf  and  fruit. 

Plate  16.     The  Nettle  Tree.     Celtis  occidenlalis .     Leaves,  fruit,  and  flowers. 

Plate  17.  The  Tupelo  Tree.  Nyssa  multifibra.  Leaves,  fruit  and  (a)  male 
and  (b)  female  flowers. 


INDEX. 


Note. — The  botanical  names  of  species,  not  native,  are  in  italics. 


Abies, 

page  77 

American  arbor  vitse, 

.      96 

alba, 

.       84 

aspen, 

.    243 

Canadensis, 

.       77 

beech, 

.     158 

nigra, 

.      81 

chestnut,     . 

.     164 

Abie'tinje, 

.       60 

elm, 

.     286 

Acer, 

.     481 

hazel, 

.     171 

campestre,    . 

.     481 

hop  hornbeam, 

.     177 

circinatum,  . 

.     481 

hornbeam,  . 

.     174 

dasycarpum, 

.     487 

laurel, 

.     390 

lavigatum,  . 

.     481 

mountain  ash, 

.     439 

macrophy'lhm, 

.     481 

nettle  tree,  . 

.     306 

opalus, 

.     481 

Ampelopsis  quinquefdlia, 

.     471 

opulifolium, 

.     481 

Amygdavle^:, 

.     446 

Pennsylvanicum, 

.     496 

Anacardiavce^:,     . 

.     499 

plataribides, . 

.     481 

Andro'meda  Tribe, 

.     371 

pseudo-platanus, 

.     481 

Andromeda  polifolia, 

.     372 

rubrum, 

.     483 

Andromevde^:, 

.     371 

saccharinum, 

.     489 

Antiaris,    . 

.     279 

spicatum,    . 

.     497 

Apple  Family, 

.     430 

ACERAXCE.E, 

.     480 

Apple, 

.     438 

iE'sculus  Californica, 

.     480 

Aquifolia\:e;e, 

.     340 

Jlava, 

.     480 

Arbor  vitas, 

.       96 

glabra, 

.     480 

Arctostaphylos  uva  ursi. 

.     381 

hippocastanum, 

.     479 

Arrow  wood, 

.     366 

parviflora,    . 

.     480 

maple-leaved 

.     367 

pavia, 

.     480 

ARTOC'AKrE^;, 

.     279 

Alder, 

.     217 

Ash  Tribe, 

.     332 

black, 

.     344 

Ash, 

.     332 

common,     . 

.     218 

black, 

.     338 

single-berry  black, 

.     345 

red, 

.     337 

speckled,     . 

.     220 

white, 

.     333 

Alder-leaved  buckthorn,    . 

.     474 

Azalea, 

.    387 

Clethra, 

.     377 

nudiflora,    . 

.     389 

Almond  Family,    . 

.     446 

Fontica, 

.     383 

Alnus, 

.     217 

viscdsa, 

.    387 

incana, 

.     220 

serrulata,    . 

.     218 

Balm  of  Gilead  poplar,     . 

.     245 

Alternate-leaved  cornel,    . 

.     409 

Balsam  fir, 

.       85 

Amelanchier, 

.     442 

Barberry  Family, 

.     520 

botryapium, 

.     443 

common,     . 

.    520 

Canadensis, 

.     443 

Barks  for  tanning, 

.      20 

ovalis, 

.     444 

Bass  wood, 

.     511 

Amentavceje, 

.     113 

Bayberry,  . 

.     224 

69 

538 


INDEX. 


Beach  plum, 

.     449 

Brittle  willows, 

.    263 

Beaked  hazel, 

.     173 

Broad-leaved  Ledum, 

.     396 

willow, 

.     274 

Broussonttia  papyrifera, 

,     282 

Bean  Family, 

.     456 

Browsing  of  cattle  hurtful  to  trees, 

Bear  berry, 

.     381 

Buckeye,    . 

.     480 

Bear  oak,  . 

.     150 

Buckthorn, 

.     473 

Beauty  of  the  forests, 

7 

Buckthorn  Family, 

.     472 

Bedford  willow,     . 

.     266 

Buffon's  mode  of  felling,  . 

.       34 

Beech, 

.     158 

Bullace  plum, 

.     448 

copper, 

.     163 

Bunch  berry, 

.     415 

purple, 

.     163 

Bush  honeysuckle, 

.     359 

Benzoin  odoriferum, 

.     324 

whortleberry, 

.     400 

Bekberidance^;,     . 

.     520 

Butternut  tree, 

.     182 

Berberis  vulgaris, 

.     521 

Button  bush, 

.     349 

Betula. 

.    202 

Buttonwood  tree,  . 

.     227 

alba, 

.     215 

excelsa, 

.     206 

Cacta^ceje, 

.     423 

glandulosa, 

.     216 

Cactus  Family,     . 

.     423 

lenta, 

.     203 

Californian  plane, 

227,  237 

nigra, 

.     208 

Camphora  officinalis, 

.     318 

papyracea,  . 

.     210 

Canada  Judas  tree, 

.     465 

populifolia, 

.     213 

moonseed,  . 

.     525 

Betulavce.e, 

.     201 

plum, 

.     449 

Bignonia,  . 

.     407 

Rhodora,     . 

.     390 

BlGNONIAvCEJE, 

.     407 

Canoe  birch, 

.    210 

Birch  Family, 

.     201 

CaprifoliaVe-e,    . 

.     352 

Birch, 

.     202 

Carpinavce^:, 

.     174 

black, 

.     203 

Carpinus  Americana, 

.     174 

canoe, 

.     210 

Carrion  flower, 

.     534 

dwarf, 

.     216 

Carya, 

.     187 

planting  with, 

.     214 

alba, 

.     191 

red, 

.     208 

amara, 

.     199 

sweet, 

.     203 

porcina, 

.     197 

white, 

.    213 

tomentosa,  . 

.     194 

yellow, 

.     206 

Cashew  nut, 

.     499 

Birch  canoes, 

.     211 

Cassandra  calyculata, 

.     373 

Bird's  eye  maple,  . 

.     491 

Castanea,  . 

.     163 

Bitternut  hickory, 

.     199 

vesca,  var.  Americana, 

.     164 

Black  alder, 

.     344 

Catalpa,     . 

.     408 

ash, 

.     338 

Catawba  grape,     . 

.     465 

birch, 

.     281 

Causes  of  the  color  of  leaves, 

.     484 

cherry, 

.     453 

Ceanothus  Americana, 

.     475 

currant, 

.     419 

Cedar, 

96,98 

mulberry,    . 

.     281 

red, 

.     102 

oak, 

.     141 

white, 

.       98 

spruce, 

.      81 

Cedar  apples, 

.     106 

swamp  whorlleberr 

7,         •    402 

Cedar  of  Lebanon, 

.       95 

walnut, 

.     185 

Cedrus  Libani, 

.       95 

whortleberry, 

.     398 

Celastravce.e, 

.     476 

willow, 

.     271 

Celastrus  scandens, 

.     478 

Blackberry, 

.     429 

Celtis, 

.     306 

Bladder  nut, 

.     477 

crassifolia, . 

.     309 

Bland's  grape, 

.     468 

occidentalis, 

.     306 

Blistered  maple,    . 

.     486 

Cephalanthus  occidentalis, 

.     349 

Blueberry,  low, 

.     403 

Cerasus  Pennsylvania, 

.     451 

Blue  whortleberry, 

.     402 

piimila, 

.     453 

Bog  willow, 

.     258 

serotina, 

.     453 

Boxberry,  . 

.     379 

Virginiana, 

.     456 

Bramble  Tribe,     . 

.     428 

Cercis  Canadensis, 

.     465 

Bread-fruit  Famity, 

.     279 

Chequer  berry, 

.     380 

Bristly  raspberry, 

.     429 

Cherry, 

.     451 

Brittle  gray  willow, 

.     262 

black, 

.     453 

INDEX. 


539 


Cherry,  choke, 

.     456 

Crack  willow, 

.     264 

northern  red, 

.     451 

Cranberry, 

.     405 

sand, 

.     453 

high, 

.     368 

wild  black, 

.     455 

tree, 

.     368 

Chestnut,  . 

.     163 

Crataegus, 

.     430 

improving  by  culti 

vation,  .     166 

coccinea,     . 

.     434 

Chestnut  oak, 

.     137 

crus-galli,   . 

.     433 

Chicken  grape, 

.     470 

punctata,     . 

.     435 

Chiogenes, 

.     406 

tomentosa, . 

.     435 

hispidula,   . 

.     407 

Creeper,     . 

.     471 

Choke  berry, 

.     441 

Creeping  Mitchella, 

.     351 

cherry, 

.     456 

Crowberry  Family, 

.     327 

Cinnamomum  zeylanicum, 

.     318 

Cucumber  tree, 

.     527 

Cinnamon  Family, 

•     317 

Cupressus, 

.       98 

Clamoun,  . 

.     392 

disticha, 

.       49 

Clethra  alnifolia,   . 

.     377 

thuyoides,  . 

.       98 

Climbing  staff  tree, 

.     478 

CurtTLl'FER^, 

.     113 

Cluster  pine, 

.      76 

Currant  Family, 

.     419 

Clustered  Zenobia, 

.     376 

black, 

.     419 

Cocculus  'Indicus,    . 

.     524 

large-flowering, 

422 

palmatus, 

.     524 

red, 

.     419 

Cockspur  thorn,     . 

.     433 

Missouri,    . 

.     419 

Coffee, 

.     347 

mountain,  . 

.     422 

Coffee  tree,  Kentucky, 

.     465 

Cydonia,    . 

.     446 

Colors  of  leaves,   . 

8,  485 

Cypress,     . 

.       98 

Columbo  root, 

.     524 

Cypress  Tribe, 

.       96 

Common  barberry, 

.     521 

American  rose  bay 

,            .     384 

Dangle  berry, 

.     399 

bear  berry, 

.     3S1 

Deer  berry, 

.     401 

buckthorn,  . 

.     473 

Dense-flowered  early  willow,        .     260 

cranberry,  . 

.     405 

Description  of  the  flower  and  fruit,       37 

elder, 

.     362 

Dicotyledonous  plants, 

.       45 

European  elm, 

.     299 

Diervilla  trifida,     . 

.     359 

gooseberry, 

.     419 

Dirca  palustris, 

.     325 

grape, 

.     467 

Distribution  into  families  t 

md  gen- 

locust  tree, 

.     460 

era, 

.      37 

witch  hazel, 

.     416 

Division  into  families, 

.      39 

Comptonia  asplenifolia, 

.     225 

Division  into  genera, 

.      42 

Con'ifer.e, 

.       47 

Dogwood,  . 

.     504 

Copper  beech, 

.     163 

flowering,   . 

.     413 

Cordate  willows,   . 

.     275 

Dotted-fruited  thorn, 

.     435 

Cork  oak,  . 

.     120 

Double  balsam  fir, 

.       88 

Cornavce.e; 

.     408 

spruce, 

.       81 

Cornel, 

.     408 

Douglass's  spruce, 

.       88 

alternate-leaved, 

.     409 

Dutch  myrtle, 

.     222 

dwarf, 

.     415 

Dwarf  Cassandra, 

.     373 

panicled,     . 

.     411 

cornel, 

.     415 

red-stemmed, 

.     410 

rose  bay,     . 

.     384 

round-leaved, 

.     410 

sumach, 

.     503 

silky, 

.     411 

Corntjs  Family,    . 

.     408 

Early  fox  grape,    . 

.     468 

alternifolia, 

.     409 

wild  rose,    . 

.     429 

Canadensis, 

.     415 

white  grape, 

.     468 

circinata,    . 

.     410 

Elder  Family, 

.     360 

florida, 

.     413 

Elder, 

.     361 

paniculata, 

.     411 

common,     . 

.     362 

sericea, 

.     411 

panicled,     . 

.     361 

stolonifera, 

.     410 

Elm  Family, 

.     284 

C6rylus,     . 

.     170 

Elm, 

.     285 

Americana, 

.     171 

American,  . 

.     286 

rostrata, 

.     173 

English, 

.     299 

Cow  berry, 

.     404 

Scotch, 

.     305 

540 


INDEX. 


Elm,    slippery, 

297 

Gaultheria, 

.     379 

twisted, 

303 

prociimbens, 

.     380 

white, 

286 

Gigantic  pine, 

.      76 

Elsinburg  grape,  . 

468 

Glaucous  kalmia,  . 

.    394 

Empetravce.e, 

327 

Gleditschia  triacanthus, 

.     464 

Epigaeva  repens,     . 

378 

Glossy  willow, 

.     267 

Ericavce.e, 

370 

Golden  osier, 

.     269 

Euonymus, 

476 

-twigged  lime  tree, 

.     511 

European  cranberry, 

406 

Gooseberry,  common, 

.     419 

larch, 

91 

common  wild, 

.     420 

larch,  planting  with, 

91 

prickly, 

.     420 

lime  tree,    . 

511 

round-leaved, 

.     421 

mountain  ash, 

440 

swamp, 

.     421 

silver  fir,    . 

88 

Grape,  Bland's, 

.     468 

Catawba,    . 

.     468 

Fagus, 

158 

chicken, 

.     470 

sylvatica,  var.  Americana 

158 

common,     . 

.     467 

sylvestris,  . 

158 

early  fox,    . 

.     468 

Felling  trees,  best  modes  of, 

24 

early  white, 

.     468 

for  timber,  . 

33 

Elsinburg, . 

.     468 

Buffon's  mode  of,   . 

34 

fox, 

.     467 

seasons  for, 

27 

frost, 

.     469 

Fence  of  white  cedar, 

100 

Isabella, 

.    468 

Fencing,  materials  for, 

20 

late  fox, 

.     46S 

Fern,  sweet, 

225 

river, 

.     470 

Fever  bark, 

347 

Schuylkill,  . 

.     468 

bush, 

324 

summer, 

.     469 

root, 

354 

summer  white, 

.     468 

Ficus  religibsa, 

279 

sweet-scented, 

.     470 

Field  maple, 

481 

wine, 

•.     470 

Fir,            ... 

85 

winter, 

.     469 

balsam, 

85 

Grape  vine, 

.     466 

double, 

88 

Grayish  willows,  . 

.     262 

Flowering  of  the  poplar,  . 

248 

Great  maple, 

.     481 

dogwood,     . 

413 

Green  briar, 

.     533 

raspberry,  .  " 

428 

GROSSOLA.vCEJi, 

.     419 

Fly  honeysuckle,  . 

358 

Ground  hemlock,  . 

.     Ill 

hairy, 

.     359 

laurel, 

.     378 

Forests, 

1 

Grouping  of  the  oaks, 

.     151 

form  a  soil, 

.       30 

Guelder  rose, 

.     363 

materials  from  the, 

11 

Guelder-leaved  maple, 

.     481 

pruning, 

23 

Gymnocladus  Canadensis, 

.     465 

sea  breezes  on, 

31 

succession  of, 

29 

Hackberry, 

.     309 

thinning  of, 

23 

Hacmatack, 

.      89 

uses  of, 

3 

Hairy  fly  honeysuckle, 

.     359 

waste  of, 

13 

honeysuckle, 

.     356 

Fox  grape, 

467 

Hamamelavceje,     . 

.     416 

Fragrant  sumach, . 

507 

Hamamelis  Virginiana,    . 

.     416 

Fraser's  pine, 

.      88 

Hard-hack, 

426,  427 

Frax'ineje, 

332 

Hard  maple, 

.     489 

Fraxinus,  . 

.     332 

Hazel, 

.     170 

acuminata, 

333 

American,  . 

•     171 

pubescens,  . 

337 

beaked, 

.     173 

sambucifolia, 

338 

Heart-leaved  willow, 

.     275 

Frost  grape, 

469 

Heath  Family, 

.     370 

willow, 

261 

Heavy  pine, 

.       76 

Fuel  from  the  forests, 

14 

Hedge  of  red  cedar, 

.     105 

Furniture,  woods  for, 

20 

Helianthemum  Canadense 

,           .     517 

ramuliflorum, 

.     517 

Gale,  sweet, 

222 

Hemlock,  . 

.       77 

GaleNje.*:, 

458 

ground, 

.     Ill 

INDEX. 


541 


Herbaceous  Smilax, 

534 

June  berry, 

.     443 

Hickories,  insects  on, 

180 

Juniper,     . 

102,  108 

Hickory,    .... 

187 

Juniperus, 

.     102 

bitternut,     . 

199 

communis, 

.     108 

mockernut, 

194 

Virginiana, 

.     102 

pignut, 

197 

shell  bark,  . 

191 

Kalmia,     . 

.     390 

High  cranberry,     . 

368 

angustifolia, 

.     394 

bush  whortleberry, 

401 

glauca, 

.     394 

raspberry,  . 

429 

latifolia, 

.     392 

HlPPOCASTANA^CE-E, 

479 

Kentucky  coffee  tree, 

.     465 

Hobble  bush, 

369 

Holly  Family, 

340 

Labrador  tea, 

, 

Holly,        .... 

341 

Landscape  maple, 

.     486 

mountain,  . 

343 

Larch, 

.       89 

wild, 

343 

European,  . 

.       94 

Honeysuckle  Family, 

352 

planting  with, 

.       91 

Honeysuckle, 

356 

Large-flowering  currant, 

.     422 

bush, 

359 

-leaved  maple, 

.     481 

fly,. 

358 

pinweed,     . 

.     518 

hairy, 

356 

poplar, 

.     243 

small-flowered  yellow, 

357 

Larix  Americana, 

.       89 

upright,      . 

389 

Late  fox  grape, 

.     468 

Hop  hornbeam, 

177 

Lauri'ne-s:, 

.     317 

Hornbeam  Family, 

174 

Laurus  nobilis, 

.     318 

Hornbeam, 

313 

Leather  wood, 

.     325 

Horn  pine, 

313 

Leaves,  colors  of,  . 

8 

Horse  chestnut,     . 

479 

Lechea, 

.    517 

Hudsonia, 

518 

major, 

.     518 

downy, 

519 

minor, 

.     518 

ericoides,    . 

519 

thymifolia, 

.     518 

heath-like,  . 

519 

Ledum, 

.     395 

tomentosa, 

519 

latifolium,  . 

.     396 

LEGtTMINO^jE, 

.     456 

Ilex  opaca, 

341 

Ligiistrum  vulgare, 

.     330 

Implements,  materials  for, 

20 

Lilac  Tribe, 

.     332 

Improvable  lands, 

21 

Lilac, 

.     332 

Improvement  of  forests,    . 

16 

Lime  tree, 

.     510 

Indian  fig,              .             .         279 

,424 

golden-twigged, 

.     511 

Indian  poke,  a  remedy  for  poison, 

505 

Linden  Family,     . 

.     510 

Ink  berry, .... 

346 

tree, 

.     510 

Insects  injurious  to  cherry  trees,  . 

447 

Linnoeva  borealis,  . 

.     353 

elms, 

2S6 

Liquidamber  styraciflua, 

.     312 

hickories, 

180 

Liquidamber, 

.     225 

locust  tree,     . 

459 

Liriodendron  tulipifera, 

.     529 

maples, 

482 

Little  chincapin  oak, 

.     140 

oaks, 

117 

Locust  tree, 

.     458 

pines, 

56 

Long-leaved  cucumber  tr< 

:e,          .     527 

poplars, 

242 

Lonicera  cserulea, 

.     359 

sassafras, 

321 

ciliata, 

.     358 

willows, 

254 

hirsuta, 

.     356 

Ipecac,       .... 

348 

parvirlora,  . 

.     357 

Isabella  grape, 

468 

LoVTEiE,       . 

.     458 

Italian  maple, 

481 

Low  blueberry, 

.     403 

Ivy,  poison, 

506 

raspberry,  . 

.     429 

Lyonia  paniculata, 

.     375 

Jersey  tea, 

475 

Judas  tree,  Canada, 

465 

Madura  aurantlaca, 

.     282 

JuGLANDA^CEiE, 

180 

tinctoria, 

.     283 

Juglans,     . 

181 

Madder  Family,    . 

.     347 

cinerea, 

182 

Ma«novlia  Family, 

.     525 

nigra, 

185 

1  Magnolia, . 

.     526 

542 


INDEX. 


Magnolia  acuminata. 

527 

Muhlenberg's  willow, 

256,  257 

auriculata,  . 

527 

Mulberry,  . 

.    280 

heart-leaved, 

527 

Mulberry,  paper,   . 

.     282 

purple, 

527 

Myricaxceje, 

.     222 

small, 

527 

Myrica  cerifera,    . 

.     224 

three-petalled, 

527 

gale, 

.     222 

yulan,         .  1 

527 

Myrtle,      . 

.     222 

Maple  Family, 

480 

Dutch, 

.     222 

Maple,       .... 

481 

bird's  eye,  . 

491 

Naked  viburnum, 

.     364 

blistered,     . 

486 

Narrow-leaved  kalmia, 

.     394 

curled  hard, 

491 

Necklace  poplar,   . 

.     249 

field, 

481 

Nemopanthus  Canadensis 

,            .     343 

great, 

481 

Nettle  tree, 

.     306 

guelder-rose-leaved, 

481 

New  Jersey  tea,    . 

.     475 

hard, 

489 

Nine  bark, 

.     426 

Italian, 

481 

Northern  red  cherry, 

.     451 

landscape,  . 

486 

Norway  pine, 

.       74 

large-leaved, 

481 

spruce, 

.      88 

Montpelier, 

481 

Nyssa  multiflora,  . 

.     313 

mountain,  .            .         486 

,  497 

Norway,     . 

481 

Oakesia,    . 

.     327 

red, 

483 

Conradi, 

.     327 

rock, 

4S9 

Oak  Family, 

.     113 

round-leaved, 

481 

Oak, 

.     115 

scarlet, 

483 

bear, 

.     150 

soft, 

483 

black, 

.     .     141 

smooth-leaved  of  Nepaul, . 

481 

chestnut,     . 

.     137 

striped, 

496 

chincapin,  . 

.     140 

sugar, 

489 

cork, 

.     120 

swamp, 

483 

little  chincapin, 

.     140 

Tartarean,  . 

481 

over-cup  white, 

.     132 

white,          .             .          483 

,487 

post, 

.     133 

Maple  sugar  making, 

493 

red, 

.     148 

value  of, 

14 

rock-chestnut, 

.     138 

Maple-leaved  arrow  wood, 

367 

rough, 

.     133 

Marking-nut  tree, 

499 

scarlet, 

.     144 

Massachusetts  forests  to   be  im- 

sessile-fruited, 

.     157 

proved,  .... 

36 

species  of,  . 

.     124 

May  flower, 

378 

stalk-fruited, 

.     157 

Mtlanorhcea  usitatissima,    . 

499 

swamp  white, 

.     135 

MeNISFERMA^CEjE,   . 

524 

velani, 

.     120 

Menispermum  Canadense, 

525 

white, 

.     127 

Mezevketjm  Family, 

325 

yellow-barked, 

.     141 

Missouri  currant,  . 

419 

Oaks,  grouping  of, 

.     151 

Mitchella  repens,  . 

351 

planting  with, 

.     152 

Mockernut  hickory, 

194 

Occidental  plane,  . 

.     227 

Monocotyledonous  plants, 

532 

Ochre-flowered  willows, 

.     274 

Montpelier  maple, 

481 

Ohio  buckeye, 

.       48 

Moonseed  Family, 

524 

Oil  nut  tree, 

.     182 

Moose  wood, 

496 

Oleaxceje, 

.     329 

Moms,       .... 

280 

Olei'neje,  . 

.     330 

alba, 

281 

Olive  Family, 

.     329 

multicwulis,  . 

281 

Tribe, 

.     330 

nigra, 

281 

Opiintia  coccinilifera, 

.     423 

rubra, 

280 

vulgaris,     . 

.     424 

Mountain  currant, 

422 

Oriental  plane, 

227,  235 

holly, 

343 

Orme  tortillard, 

.     303 

laurel, 

392 

Osage  orange, 

.     282 

maple, 

486 

Osier,  golden, 

.     269 

partridge  berry, 

406 

'Ostrya  Virginica, 

.     177 

sumach, 

503 

Overcup  white  oak, 

.     132 

INDEX. 


543 


Oxycoccus  macrocarpus, 
paliistris,     . 

Fanicled  cornel, 

elder, 

Lyonia, 
Paper  mulberry, 
Papilionavce.e, 
Partridge  berry, 

mountan 
Pear, 

prickly, 
Pear  tree, 
Pear-leaved  thorn, 
Pepperidge, 
Persea  gratissima, 
Peruvian  bark, 
Picea  balsarnil'era, 

Fraseri, 
Pignut  hickory, 
Pine  Family, 
Pine  and  Fir  Tribe 
Pine, 

cluster, 

Fraser's, 

gigantic, 

heavy, 

Norway, 

pitch, 

red, 

Sabine's, 

Scotch, 

white, 
Pinus, 

Lamb  crti  ana, 

pinaster, 

pxnea, 

ponderbsa, 

resinosa, 

rigida, 

Sabiniana, 

strobus, 

sylvestris, 
Pinweed,    . 
Pistacia  lentiscus, 

terebinthus, 
Pitch  pine, 
Plane  Tree  Family, 
Plane  tree, 
Planer  tree, 
Planlra  Eichdrdi, 

ulmifolia, 
Planting  near  the  sea, 
with  birch, 
with  pines, 
with  pitch  pine, 
with  larch, 
with  oaks, 
Plants  with  naked  seeds, 
Platanavce.e, 
Platanus  occidentalis, 

orient  alis,     . 


351 


405 

Platanus  racembsus, 

.    237 

406 

Plum,  beach, 

.     449 

bullace, 

.     450 

380 

Canada, 

.     449 

361 

yellow, 

.     449 

375 

Plum  tree, 

.     448 

282 

Plymouth  crowberry, 

.     327 

458 

Podisoma  macrocarpus, 

.     107 

380 

Poison  ivy, 

.     506 

406 

sumach, 

.     504 

436 

wood, 

.     504 

424 

Pomavce.e;, 

.     430 

437 

Poplar, 

.     240 

435 

balm  of  Gilead, 

.     245 

313 

flowering  ot  the, 

.     248 

318 

insects  on,  . 

.     242 

347 

large, 

.     242 

85 

necklace,     . 

.     249 

88 

river, 

.     246 

197 

Populus,    . 

.     240 

47 

candicans,  . 

.     245 

60 

grandidentata, 

.     242 

60 

laevigata,     . 

.     246 

76 

monilifera, 

.     249 

88 

tremuliformis, 

.     243 

76 

Prickly  Ash  Family, 

.     508 

76 

Prickly  ash, 

.     509 

74 

gooseberry, 

.     420 

66 

pear, 

.     424 

74 

Prim, 

.     330 

76 

Prinos  glaber, 

.     346 

76 

Uevigatus,  . 

.     345 

60 

verticillatus, 

.     344 

60 

Prinos-like  willow, 

.     259 

76 

Privet, 

.     330 

76 

Products  of  the  pines, 

.       48 

53 

Pruning,    . 

.       23 

76 

Prunus, 

.     448 

74 

Americana, 

.     449 

66 

domestica,    . 

.     448 

76 

instilitia, 

448,  450 

60 

maritima,   . 

.     449 

76 

spinbsa, 

.     448 

517 

Purple  beech. 

.     163 

499 

magnolia,   . 

.     527 

499 

Pursh's  willow, 

.     272 

66 

Pyrus, 

.     436 

226 

Americana, 

.     439 

227 

arbutifolia, 

.     441 

312 

communis, 

.     437 

312 

malus, 

.     438 

312 

sorbus, 

.     441 

32 

214 

Queen  of  the  meadows, 

.     427 

57 

Quercus,    . 

.     115 

70 

alba, 

.     127 

91 

bicolor, 

.     135 

152 

castanea,    . 

.     137 

47 

chinquapin, 

.     140 

226 

coccinea,     . 

.     144 

227 

ilicifolia, 

.     150 

235 

macrocarpa. 

.     132 

;44 


INDEX. 


Quercus  montana, 

.     138 

Ribes  floridum,     . 

.     422 

obtusiloba, 

.     133 

grossularia, 

.     419 

pedunculata, 

.     157 

hirtellum,   . 

.     420 

prinus, 

.     137 

lacvistre, 

.     421 

rubra, 

.     148 

nigrum, 

.     419 

sessilijlbra,  . 

.     157 

prostratum, 

.     422 

stellata, 

.     133 

rotundifolium, 

.     421 

suber, 

.     120 

rubrum, 

.     419 

tinctdria,     . 

.     141 

specibsum,    . 

.     419 

Quince  tree, 

.     446 

uva  crispa, 

.     419 

River  bush, 

.     349 

Raspberry,  bristly, 

.     429 

grape, 

.     470 

flowering,   . 

.     428 

poplar, 

.     246 

high, 

.     429 

Roan  tree, 

.     440 

low, 

.     429 

Robinia,    . 

.    458 

red, 

.     429 

hispida, 

.     459 

Red  birch, 

.     208 

pseudacacia, 

.     460 

bud, 

.     465 

viscusa, 

.     459 

ash, 

.     337 

Rock  chestnut  oak, 

.     138 

cedar, 

.     102 

maple, 

.     489 

currant, 

.     419 

Rock  Rose  Family, 

.     515 

maple, 

.     483 

R0SAVCE.ffi, 

.     425 

mulberry,   . 

.     280 

Rosa  Carolina, 

.     429 

oak, 

.     148 

hicida, 

.     429 

pine, 

.       74 

nitida, 

.     430 

raspberry,  . 

.     429 

rubiginosa, 

.     430 

Red-stemmed  cornel, 

.     410 

Roxseje, 

.     429 

RiiamnaVe^;, 

.     472 

Rose  bay,  . 

.     383 

Rhamnus  alnifdlius, 

.     474 

dwarf,     . 

.     384 

calharticus, 

.     473 

Rose  Family, 

.     425 

Rhododendron, 

.     383 

Rose  Tribe, 

.     429 

arbbrcum,    . 

.     383 

Rough  oak, 

.     133 

campanulatum, 

.     384 

Round-leaved  cornel, 

.     410 

chrysanthum, 

.    384 

gooseberry, 

.     421 

ferrugineum, 

.     383 

green  briar, 

.     533 

'Jndicum, 

.    384 

maple, 

.     481 

maximum, . 

.     384 

smilax, 

.     533 

nudiflorum, 

.     389 

Rowan  tree, 

.     440 

Ponlicum,    . 

.     383 

Rubiaxceje, 

.     347 

punctatum,  . 

.     384 

Rubus, 

.     428 

puniceum,    . 

.     383 

Canadensis, 

.     429 

purpureum, 

.     384 

frondosus,  . 

.     429 

rhodora, 

.     390 

hispidus, 

.     429 

viscosum,   . 

.     387 

occidentalis, 

.     429 

Rhodora,    . 

.     389 

odoratus,     . 

.     428 

Canadensis, 

.     390 

sempervirens, 

.     429 

RnoDovRA  Tribe,    . 

.     382 

setosus, 

.     429 

Rhodovreje, 

.     382 

strigosus,    . 

.     429 

Rhus, 

.     500 

villosus, 

.     429 

aromatica,  . 

.     507 

copallina,    . 

.     503 

Sabine's  pine, 

.       76 

cor i aria, 

.     500 

Sage  willow, 

.     255 

cotinus, 

.     500 

S'ALICES  ALB-flE, 

.     268 

glabra, 

.     502 

Cine^EjE,  . 

.     255 

radicans,     . 

.    506 

CORDAVTjE,    . 

.     275 

toxicodendron, 

.     506 

DISCOLOVRES, 

.     258 

typhina, 

.     501 

fr'agiles,   . 

.     263 

venenata,    . 

.     504 

f'dlv-e:, 

.     274 

vernicifera,  . 

.     500 

grivseje, 

.     262 

Ribes, 

.     419 

VIMINAXLES, 

.     263 

aurcum, 

.     419 

Sallows,     . 

.     255 

cynosbati,  . 

.     420 

Salici'neje, 

.     239 

INDEX. 


:Vi:, 


Salix, 

.     252 

Smilax  rotundifolia, 

.     533 

alba, 

.     268 

Smoke  tree, 

.     500 

angustata,  . 

.     278 

Smooth-leaved  maple  of  ]> 

fepaul,  .     181 

Babylonica, 

.     270 

Smooth  sumach,    . 

.    502 

raprea, 

.     239 

Snag  tree, . 

.     313 

cordata, 

.     275 

Soft  maple, 

. 

crassa, 

.     260 

Soil  for  pines, 

.       56 

cleapiens, 

.     265 

Species  of  oak, 

.     124 

discolor, 

.     253 

Speckled  alder, 

.     220 

eriocephala, 

.     259 

Spice  bush, 

.     324 

fragilis, 

.     264 

Spiudle  tree, 

.     476 

grisea, 

.     262 

Spirjeva  Tribe, 

.     426 

helix, 

.     239 

Spiraea  opulilolia, 

.     426 

liicida, 

.     267 

paniculata, 

.     427 

Muhlenbergiana, 

256,  257 

salicifolia,  . 

.     427 

nigra, 

.     271 

tomentosa,  . 

.     427 

pentandra,   . 

.     268 

Spoonwood, 

.     392 

prinoides,    . 

.     259 

Spruce, 

.       77 

Purshiana, . 

.     272 

black, 

81 

rigida, 

.    276 

double, 

.      81 

rostrata, 

.     274 

Douglass's, 

.      8S 

Russelliana, 

239,  266 

Norway, 

.      88 

sensitiva,    . 

.     261 

single, 

.      84 

Torreyana, 

.     277 

white, 

.      84 

tristis. 

.     255 

Staff  Tree  Family, 

.     476 

vitellina, 

.     269 

Staff  tree, . 

.     478 

Sarabucus  Canadensis, 

.     326 

Stag's  horn  sumach, 

.     501 

pubens, 

.     361 

Stalk-fruited  oak,  . 

.     157 

Sand  cherry, 

.     453 

Staphyloma  trifolia, 

.     477 

Sandal  Wood  Family, 

.     312 

Steeple  bush, 

.     427 

Santalavce.e, 

.     312 

Stiff-leaved  willow, 

.     276 

Sassafras,  . 

.     319 

Striped  maple, 

.     496 

officinale,    . 

.     319 

Study  of  trees, 

.       35 

Savin, 

.     105 

Stumps,  shoots  from, 

.       27 

Scarlet-fruited  thorn, 

.     434 

Succession  of  forests, 

.       29 

Scarlet  maple, 

.     483 

Sugar  maple, 

.     439 

oak, 

.     Ill 

pear,  wild, 

.     442 

Schuylkill  grape,  . 

.     468 

Sumach  Family,    . 

.     499 

Scotch  elm, 

.     305 

Sumach,    . 

.     500 

pine, 

.       76 

fragrant, 

.     507 

Sea  breezes  on  forests, 

.       31 

stag's  horn, 

T    501 

Season  for  felling  trees, 

.       27 

tanner's, 

.     500 

Semecarpus  anacdrdium, 

.     499 

varnish, 

.     500 

Service  tree, 

.     441 

Venitian,    . 

.     500 

Sessile-fruited  oak, 

.     157 

Summer  grape, 

.     469 

Shad  bush, 

.     443 

white  grape, 

.     46S 

Shade  of  trees, 

.       10 

Sun  rose,  . 

.     516 

Shell-bark  hickory, 

.     191 

Canada, 

.     517 

Shining  rose, 

.     430 

Swamp  gooseberry, 

.     421 

Ship-building,  trees  for,    . 

.      19 

laurel, 

.     527 

Shoots  from  stumps, 

.      27 

maple, 

.     4S3 

Silky  cornel, 

.     411 

pink, 

.     3S7 

Silver  fir,  . 

.      88 

pyrus, 

.     443 

Single-berry  black  alder, 

.    345 

rose, 

.     430 

Single  spruce, 

.      84 

sugar  pear, 

.      Ill 

Slippery  elm, 

.     297 

white  oak,  . 

.     135 

Sloe  thorn, 

.     448 

whortleberry, 

.     40J 

Small-flowered  yellow  hon 

eysuckle,  357 

Sweet  birch, 

.     203 

Small  pinweed, 

.    518 

briar, 

.     430 

Smilanceje, 

.     532 

buckeye,     . 

.     480 

Smilax  Family,     . 

.     532 

fern, 

.     225 

Smilax  herbacea,  . 

.     5'!  1 

-scented  ?rape. 

.     470 

70 


546 


INDEX. 


Sweet  gale, 

.     222 

Vaccinium  virgatum, 

.     402 

viburnum,  . 

.     364 

vitis  idae^, . 

.     404 

wood, 

.     318 

Variety  of  forest  trees, 

.  9,  17 

Syringa  vulgaris,   . 

.     332 

Varnish  sumach,  . 

.    500 

Varnished  willow, 

.    265 

Tanner's  sumach, 

.    500 

Velani  oak, 

.     120 

Tanning,  barks  for, 

.      20 

Venetian  sumach, 

.     500 

Tartarean  maple,  . 

.     481 

Veratrum  viride,  a  remedy  fo 

rpoison,505 

Taxavce.e, 

.   no 

V1B1/RNE.E, 

.    360 

Taxodium, 

.      49 

Viburnum, 

.     363 

distichum,    . 

.     101 

acerifolium, 

.     367 

Taxus, 

.     110 

dentatum,   . 

.    366 

Canadensis, 

.     Ill 

lantanoides, 

.    369 

Tecoma,    . 

.     407 

lent  ago, 

.     364 

Tender  willow, 

.     261 

nudum, 

.    364 

Theet-see, . 

.     499 

opulus, 

.     368 

Thimbleberry, 

.     429 

sweet, 

.     364 

Thinning  forests,  . 

.      23 

Vine  Family, 

.     466 

Thorn, 

.     430 

Virginian  creeper, 

.     471 

cockspur,    . 

.     433 

Vitavceje,           •   . 

.     466 

dotted-fruited, 

.     435 

Vitis  asstivalis, 

.     469 

pear-leaved, 

.     435 

cordifolia,  . 

.     470 

scarlet-fruited, 

.     434 

labrusca,     . 

.     467 

sloe, 

.     448 

riparia, 

.     470 

white, 

.     434 

sinuata, 

.     469 

Three-flowered  bush  hone 

ysuckle,    359 

-leaved  bladder-nut, 

.     477 

Walnut  Family,  . 

.     180 

Thuya  occidentalis, 

.      96 

Walnut,     . 

.     181 

Thymelavce.e, 

.     325 

black, 

.     185 

Thyme-leaved  pinweed, 

.     518 

Waste  of  the  forests, 

.       13 

Tilia  Americana,  . 

.     511 

Water  andromeda, 

.     372 

TlLIA^CEJE, 

.     510 

Wax  Myrtle  Family, 

.     222 

Torrey's  willow,    . 

.     277 

Wax  myrtle, 

.     224 

Triosteum  perfoliatum, 

.     355 

Wayfaring  tree,     . 

.     369 

Trumpet-Flower  Family 

.     407 

Weeping  beech,     . 

.     163 

Tselkwa,    . 

.    312 

willow, 

.     270 

Tulip  tree, 

.    529 

White  ash, 

.     333 

Tupelo  tree,          . 

.     313 

birch, 

.     213 

Twin  flower, 

.     353 

cedar, 

.       98 

Two-colored  willow, 

.     258 

elm, 

.     286 

maple, 

.     483 

UlMA^CEjE, 

.    284 

oak, 

.     127 

Ulmus, 

.    285 

pine, 

.       60 

Americana, 

.     286 

spruce, 

.       84 

campestris,   . 

.    299 

thorn, 

.     434 

fulva, 

.     297 

Whortleberry  Family,    . 

.     397 

montana, 

.     305 

Whortleberry, 

.     398 

racemdsa,  . 

.     305 

black,  - 

.     398 

Upas  tree, 

.     279 

black  swamp, 

.    402 

Upright  honeysuckle, 

.     389 

blue, 

.     402 

Uses  of  forests, 

3 

bush, 

.     400 

high  bush,  . 

.     401 

Vacc'ine.e, 

.     397 

swamp, 

.    401 

Vaccinium  corymbosum, 

.     401 

Wild  black  cherry, 

.    455 

disomorphum, 

.     402 

bullace  tree, 

.     450 

dumosum,  . 

.    400 

holly, 

.     343 

frondosum, 

.     399 

honeysuckle, 

.     387 

myrtillus, 

.     398 

Willow  Family,  . 

.    239 

Pennsylvanicum, 

.     403 

Willow,      . 

.    252 

resinosum, 

.     398 

beaked, 

.    274 

staminium, 

.     401 

Bedford, 

.    266 

uligimisum, 

.     398 

'V  -black, 

.     271 

INDEX. 


547 


Willow,  bog, 

.    258 

Willows,  two-colored, 

.     258 

brittle  gray, 

.     262 

viminales,  . 

.    263 

crack, 

.     264 

white, 

.     268 

dense-flowered  early, 

.     260 

Wine  grape, 

.     470 

frost, 

.     261 

Winter  berry, 

.     344 

glossy, 

.     267 

grape, 

.     459 

heart-leaved, 

.    275 

Witch  Hazel  Family, 

.     416 

Muhlenberg's, 

256,  257 

Withe  rod, 

.     364 

prinos-like, 

.     259 

Pursh's, 

.     272 

Xanthoxylavce.e, 

.     508 

sage, 

.     255 

Xanthoxylum  Americanum,              509 

stiff-leaved, 

.    276 

tender, 

.    261 

Yellow-barked  oak, 

.     141 

Torrey's,     . 

.     277 

birch, 

.     206 

varnished,  . 

.     265 

plum, 

.     449 

weeping,     . 

.    270 

willow, 

.     269 

woolly-headed  swamp, 

.     259 

wood, 

.     509 

yellow, 

.     269 

Yew, 

.     Ill 

Willow,  insects  on, 

.     254 

Yews,        .         ™ . 

.     110 

Wlllows,  brittle,  . 

.    263 

Yulan  magnolia,  . 

.     527 

cordate, 

.     275 

grayish, 

.     262 

Zelkoua,    . 

.     312 

ochre-flowered, 

.     274 

Zenobia  racemosa, 

.     376 

sallows, 

.    255 

PLATE     I 


WHITE     OAIC.      On  era  is'    albd. 


■ 


PLATE  -' 


OVERCUP  WHITE    OAK.      Querciis  Macrocarpco. 


TriMtl 


PLATE  ./. 


ROUGH  OAK.    Quercus   stellata 


- 


PLATE     ', 


SWAMP    WHITE  oak.      Qwercws   bicolor. 


■ 


pl. ///•:  5 


CHESTNUT     OAK.    0  aercus  Caslanca . 


,    -i  VYerk. 


/y.  //'/■: 


PLATE  7. 


BLACK     OAK 


(J  ii  a  ens  tiftctoria 


fn*Ki  ly  GkW.Enf 


BLACK  OATL,  (Qilercus  tinctoriw.) 


/'/,.ir/: 


STARLET    O-AIC.i  (Jtirmis  COCcineCL. 


BBB    OAK   { Qu-erciLS  rubra. 


BEAR  OAK.    (Quercus  ilirifolicL, 


PLATE  12. 


SHELLBARK    HICKORY.    Carya  alba 


■  ;Jlult.     JTYorl. 


PLATE  13 


MOCKKIl.XL'T 


tiirya  tomentosa.  j 


PLATE    14 


PIGNUT  hickory.       fCarya  porcuvcL. 


i 


/'/.I'/' 


BITTKHXrV        HlCKOh'T        Carva    antara . 


PLATE  10 


NETTLE     TREE.    Celtis    occidentalis '. j 


■     ' 


/>/,.  i  '/'/<;  17. 


TUPELO    7'REE   (  Jfy8S(V     mullillora 


■